Contract Management

The Contract Management Division (CMD) handles the legal and business agreements that let JPL operate. JPL is owned by NASA but run by Caltech under contract, and CMD manages that arrangement.

Its main responsibilities:

• The Caltech contract. CMD is responsible for the contractual management of the prime contract with Caltech for the operation of JPL. This is a roughly $30 billion contract and sponsorship agreement.

• Deep Space Network contracts. CMD also manages contracts with the governments of Spain and Australia for operating the Deep Space Network communication facilities. These are the large antenna sites that talk to spacecraft across the solar system.

• Day-to-day contract work. The division handles oversight, administration, and strategic execution of NASA’s contract with Caltech, which is structured as a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC). Recent priorities have included streamlining task order execution, strengthening corrective actions from procurement reviews, modernizing negotiation documentation, and aligning oversight with federal best practices for FFRDCs.

James G. Williams, Chief Contracting Officer

Rosalia Toberman, Associate Chief Contracting Officer

Institutional Management

The Institutional Management Division (IMD) covers the non-contract side of oversight at JPL. It makes sure the lab’s missions, facilities, and day-to-day operations meet NASA’s technical, safety, and regulatory requirements.

Its responsibilities fall into a few areas:

• Mission oversight. IMD handles technical compliance oversight of JPL’s spaceflight programs and projects. A Project Implementation Oversight Manager serves as the programmatic arm of the Contracts Management Division and keeps current on the status of every JPL project.

• Safety, health, and environment. IMD covers institutional safety, occupational health, and environmental management, including emergency preparedness and continuity of operations.
• Facilities and property. It oversees facilities and real estate, logistics, and government-owned equipment.
• Records and public access. It manages records, Privacy Act matters, and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.
• Technology and business. It covers export control, technology commercialization, the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, and technical review of JPL patents.
• Aircraft. It also oversees aircraft management operations.

Kenneth Gimlin, Chief of Institutional Management

Abe Awwad, Deputy Chief of Institutional Management

Business Operations

The Business Operations Office manages the organizational budget and coordinates all financial activities within NOJMO.

• Budget management. The office manages NOJMO’s organizational budget, planning and tracking the funds the office needs to carry out its oversight mission.
• Financial coordination. It coordinates all financial activities within NOJMO so that spending across the divisions follows NASA financial policies and federal requirements.
• Leadership support. The office ties business operations directly to the Director’s office. This helps connect NOJMO’s resources with leadership priorities.
• Administrative operations. It supports the day-to-day administrative needs of NOJMO staff and helps coordinate work across the divisions.

Bobbie Stoker, Business Operations Manager

Office of the General Counsel

The Office of General Counsel is NASA’s on-site legal team at JPL. It protects the government’s interests in the relationship with Caltech.

• Advising leadership. The office advises NOJMO leadership on institutional governance, contracts, compliance, risk management, and coordination across NASA and with outside stakeholders.
• The Caltech and Deep Space Network contracts. It negotiates and administers the JPL contract and the international Deep Space Network contracts, and it manages legal risk to protect NASA’s interests at the government-owned, contractor-operated lab.
• Standard NASA legal services. It provides the same legal services as NASA’s other centers and headquarters, with emphasis on procurement, intellectual property, ethics, environmental and real property law, Space Act Agreements, and FOIA.
• Patents and agreements. Staff attorneys have handled intellectual property, commercial agreements, and interagency agreements. The office is part of NASA’s Office of General Counsel in Washington, DC.

Brett Swanson, General Counsel

Office of Protective Services

The Protective Services Office is NOJMO’s security arm. It serves as the director’s principal authority and advisor on security, law enforcement, and intelligence matters.

• Running the security program. It plans, organizes, and directs the overall JPL Protective Services program.
• Overseeing Caltech’s security team. Day-to-day security at JPL is handled by Caltech’s own JPL Protective Services Division. NOJMO’s office evaluates that division and advises it on following NASA security policies and procedures.
• Law enforcement liaison. It connects NASA Headquarters’ Office of Protective Services with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies.
• Specific security programs. It oversees personnel, physical, information, and industrial security, plus Foreign National Access Management (FNAM). In practice, that covers background checks and clearances, protecting buildings and sites, safeguarding sensitive information and technology, and controlling access for visitors and staff from other countries. NOJMO’s security staff represent NASA and oversee Caltech’s security operation rather than guarding the lab directly.

Tim Suspanic, Chief of the Office of Protective Services