Tara Odom

Tara S. Odom serves as a Contracting Officer responsible for managing complex acquisitions across advanced aerospace, instrumentation, and engineering service domains. She plays a pivotal role in executing the agency’s procurement mission by ensuring compliance with federal acquisition regulations while fostering competitive, transparent, and efficient contracting processes. Her portfolio primarily consists of sole-source and competed contracts for specialized equipment, technical systems, and professional engineering services, with a strong emphasis on technical rigor and mission-critical performance requirements. While specific contractor names are not available, her contracting patterns indicate consistent engagement with manufacturers of aviation components, precision measurement instruments, and engineering service providers. She cultivates relationships with both large industrial primes and qualified small businesses, emphasizing technical capability, past performance, and regulatory compliance in source selection. Her approach reflects a balanced focus on mission readiness and market diversity, with procurement decisions grounded in FAR-compliant evaluation criteria. Odom demonstrates a clear preference for open competition, with 82.5% of her awards issued without set-aside restrictions. However, she maintains a robust commitment to small business participation, allocating 16.5% of her awards to Total Small Business Set-Asides under FAR 19.5 and 1.0% to 8(a) competed contracts. This pattern reflects a strategic balance between maximizing competition and advancing socioeconomic goals, with occasional use of small business set-asides to support innovation and capacity building within the small business community. Her primary procurement focus centers on NAICS 336413 (Other Aircraft Parts and Auxiliary Equipment Manufacturing), 334515 (Instrument Manufacturing for Measuring and Testing Electricity and Electrical Signals), and 334514 (Totalizing Fluid Meter and Counting Device Manufacturing), underscoring deep expertise in aerospace systems and precision instrumentation. She also regularly procures engineering services under NAICS 541330, indicating strong technical oversight in design, integration, and test support for mission-critical systems. Her domain knowledge spans avionics, sensor systems, and measurement technologies essential to national defense and aerospace operations.