N0017826R3017 Draft RFP QA 1 May 2026.pdf

Draft RFP Questions and Answer (Q&A)

H30 Engineering Services

N0017826R3017

1. Section L 3.0 PROPOSAL ORGANIZATION AND CONTENT

Page Limits - This draft solicitation provides a 40-page limit for five SOW sections plus two Scenarios. Given the complexity of the selected SOW sections and the 12-point font requirement; we estimate a minimum of seven pages per section (35 pages).

Additionally, based on the detailed and specific requirements of the scenario problem scope, we estimate each require 15 pages, each to properly address the full problem scope (30 pages).

QUESTION: Would the government consider allowing 40 pages for the SOW response and 15 pages each for the scenarios?

Answer: The Government will consider increasing the page limitations in the official Request for Proposal. Accordingly, the Government plans to increase the Technical Approach page limitations to: 50 pages for the SOW response and 20 pages for each scenario.

2. 2.0 PROPOSAL FORMAT AND CONTENT

“Font text shall be 12-point Times New Roman, except for:

“Graphs, graphics, or charts used to supplement the proposal text shall use Times New Roman that is no smaller than 9-point font size.”

In a recent QA for V- Dept (26R3008) and H20 (26R3102), the government clarified that 9-point font is acceptable for tables as well.

QUESTION: Will 9-point font be acceptable for tables as well as graphics and charts?

Answer: 9-font font will be acceptable for tables as well as graphics and charts.

3. 2.0 PROPOSAL FORMAT AND CONTENT states that "Graphs, graphics, or charts used to supplement the proposal text shall use Times New Roman..."

Times New Roman is not conducive for artwork or graphics. In a recent QA for H20 (26R3102), the government allow “the use of other font types for graphics and charts provided it is legible and is equivalent in size to 9-point Times New Roman font”

QUESTION: Will the government allow use of Arial or Calibri in graphics or charts provided the rendered font size is no smaller than the equivalent 9-point Times New Roman?

Answer: The Government will allow for the use of other font types for graphics and charts provided it is legible and is equivalent in size to 9-point Times New Roman font.

4. 3.2 VOLUME II - PAST PERFORMANCE (FACTOR 2)

“Offeror shall provide three past performance references, if available, which shall reflect recent experience performed within the last three (3) years of the solicitation release date”.

It is typical of NSWCDD solicitations including V- Dept (26R3008) and H20 (26R3102) to allow past performance “within the last five (5) years.

QUESTION: Will the government update this section “last five (5) years”?

Answer: The Government will update this section to reflect “Within the last five (5) years”.

5. Solicitation N0017826R3017 J_4_Personnel_Qualifications_Guide.pdf

Section Key Personnel Qualifications: “The solicitation requires eight (8) Key Personnel positions, with Program Manager and Senior Software Engineer each requiring 1 FTE to fill;

Senior Mechanical Engineer, Principal Engineer, Electrical Engineer – Junior, and Electrical Engineer Mid/Journeyman each will require 2 FTEs to fill; Senior Systems Engineer will require

2.5 FTE, to fill; Senior Electrical Engineer will require 3 FTEs to fill.”

By our calculations this equates to the following FTE and hours, however this total does not match the defined 30,912 hrs. for CLIN 6000, 6100, 6200, 6300, or 6300 defined in the Labor Categories / Hours table in the “Specific Approach” section.

Position FTE Hours

Program Manager 1 1,920

Senior Software Engineer 1 1,920

Senior Mechanical Engineer 2 3,840

Principal Engineer 2 3,840

Electrical Engineer Mid/Journeyman 2 3,840

Electrical Engineer – Junior 2 3,840

Senior Electrical Engineer 3 5,760

Senior Systems Engineer 2.5 4,800

Total 15.5 29,760

QUESTION: Would the please review/correct the Key labor categories FTE versus the tables? Listing the requirements in table format would be very helpful. In addition, would the government consider updating J_4 to include paragraph numbering?

Answer: The Government will include the following table in Attachment J.4. under Section C.

Key Personnel Qualifications to clarify total annual hours and FTEs for Key Personnel.

Key Personnel Position FTE Hours

Program Manager 1 1,920

Senior Software Engineer 1 1,920

Senior Mechanical Engineer 2 3,840

Senior Mechanical Engineer Overtime

0.1 192

Principal Engineer 2 3,840

Principal Engineer Overtime 0.1 192

Electrical Engineer- Junior 2 3,840

Electrical Engineer – Junior Overtime

0.1 192

Electrical Engineer Mid/Journeyman 2 3,840

Electrical Engineer Mid/Journeyman Overtime

0.1 192

Senior Systems Engineer 2.5 4,800

Senior Electrical Engineer 3 5,760

Senior Electrical Engineer Overtime

0.1 384

Total 16 30,912

6. J_4_Personnel_Qualifications_Guide.pdf

Labor Categories table in the “Specific Approach” section.

The total hours listed by year are not correct; by our calculations the total for CLIN 6000, 6100, 6200, 6300 = 142,368 with total of 149,568 for CLIN 6300

QUESTION: Would the government please review/correct the total labor hours listed in the tables and Section B.2 ADDITIONAL CLINs of Solicitation___N0017826R3017 (Draft).pdf?

Answer: The Government will revise attachment J.4 to display the labor hours below.

Labor Category CLIN 6000,6100, 6200, 6300 6500 Labor Hours

Key Personnel (All FTES) 30,912 30,912

Senior Computer Systems/Software Engineer

0 1,920

Systems Engineer 5,760 5,760

Principal Systems Engineer 4,032 4,032

Electrical Engineer 0 2,112

Mechanical Engineer 5,760 5,760

Computer System/Software Engineer

3,840 3,840

Software Developer 7,680 7,680

Software Developer (Threat Engineer)

7,680 7,680

Junior Engineer 13,824 13,824

Configuration Management Analyst 3,840 3,840

Program Analyst 24,000 24,000

Senior Writer/Editor 1,920 1,920

Engineering Technician III – 30083 0 2,112

Engineering Technician IV – 30084 0 2,112

Engineering Technician V -- 30085 7,872 7,872

Engineering Technician VI – 30086 0 2,112

Windows System Admin 7,680 7,680

Linux System Admin 3,840 3,840

IA Specialist (Cyber Lethality Support)

5,760 5,760

Technical Specialist 1,920 1,920

Management & Support 2,400 2,400

Total 138,720 149,088

7. J_4_Personnel_Qualifications_Guide.pdf – Section C (Key Personnel Qualification) contains junior / mid-level positions:

“Electrical Engineer – Junior” (EE degree + 3 years’ experience required)

“Electrical Engineer Mid/Journeyman” (EE degree + 3 years’ experience required).

In addition, this section states “…All Key Personnel positions shall be considered senior. …”.

It is unusual to define Non-Senior personnel as Key, particularly when there is already equivalent Key Senior Electrical Engineer Labor category along with non-key Electrical Engineer (EE degree + 5 years’ experience required) which exceed the Junior and Mid/Journeyman position.

QUESTION: Will the government consider removing Electrical Engineer – Junior, and Electrical Engineer Mid/Journeyman; from the list of key positions?

Answer: These positions have been designated as Key positions due to H30 Program Requirements for staffing.

8. QUESTION: Will the government review the position description for Electrical Engineer – Junior, and Electrical Engineer Mid/Journeyman as the position description requirements appear to be identical.

Answer: Electrical Engineer Mid/Journeyman should and will be updated to state the following:

ELECTRICAL ENGINEER – MID/JOURNEYMAN

A Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering plus (5) years of experience in electrical design and engineering techniques. Demonstrates ability to evaluate electrical systems, products, components, and applications by designing and conducting research programs; applying knowledge of electricity and materials for electrical systems. Demonstrates ability to devise new approaches to problems, and prepare or modify drawings, specifications, and provide quality control of projects built by others. Experience with RF/microwave test equipment. Demonstrates ability to perform analog circuit/network analysis, and an understanding of power semiconductor physics.

9. J_8___Statement_of_Work.pdf (Draft) C.3.13 CYBERSECURITY

Subsection C.3.13.13 The Contractor shall develop and follow a Software Development Plan (SDP) for all computer software to be developed or maintained under this effort. (CDRL A010)

The requirements for a Software Development Plan is unrelated to the Cybersecurity requirement.

QUESTION: Would the government consider striking C.3.13.13?

Answer: A Software Development Plan is no longer required. This CDRL and requirement will be removed.

10. Please confirm only the following positions (Systems Administrator Unix/Linux, Systems Administrator - Windows, and Information Assurance Specialist - Cyber Lethality Support) in Attachment J4 are designated as CWF in accordance with C.5.2 of the Solicitation. These LCATS have statements such as "Per DoD Directive 8570.01-M or successor, this position requires Information Assurance Technical (IAT) Level 2 or higher and requires this position to be designated as an Information Technology (IT) Level 1." or "Per DoD Directive DoDI 8570.01-M or successor, this position requires a Information Assurance Manager (IAM) Level II certification(s).

Answer: The Government confirms that Systems Administrator Unix/Linux, Systems Administrator - Windows, and Information Assurance Specialist - Cyber Lethality Support are designated as Cybersecurity Workforce.

11. C.8.1 on page 26 states the following labor categories require a final TS with SCI eligibility: Senior Systems Engineer (2.5 FTE); Senior Mechanical Engineer (2 FTE); Senior Software Engineer (1 FTE); Senior Electrical Engineer (2 FTE); Principal Engineer (2 FTE);

Software Developer (Threat Engineering) (4 FTE) and IA Specialist (Cyber Lethality Support) (3 FTE). Senior Systems Engineer only shows .5 FTE at government site in Table C.7.1, yet Attachment J4 states there will be 2.5 Senior Systems Engineer FTEs designated as key.

Please clarify the correct number of Senior Systems Engineer and if just the .5 FTE is government site and the remaining 2 FTE are contractor site."

Answer: That is correct – for Senior Systems Engineer - .5 FTE at government site and 2 FTE at contractor site, due to on-site government office space availability.

12. Attachment J4 Personnel Qualifications states "The solicitation requires eight (8) Key Personnel positions, with Program Manager and Senior Software Engineer each requiring 1 FTE to fill; Senior Mechanical Engineer, Principal Engineer, Electrical Engineer – Junior, and Electrical Engineer Mid/Journeyman each will require 2 FTEs to fill; Senior Systems Engineer will require 2.5 FTE to fill; Senior Electrical Engineer will require 3 FTEs to fill." As listed, this totals to 15.5 FTE.

Please confirm the total number of key personnel to be proposed (i.e., total number of resumes to be submitted - is it 16 resumes to account for the full and part-time positions?).

Answer: Please see the response to question 5 above. The total number of key personnel to be proposed is 16. The total number of resumes to be submitted is 16.

13. Attachment J4 Personnel Qualifications states "The solicitation requires eight (8) Key Personnel positions, with Program Manager and Senior Software Engineer each requiring 1 FTE to fill; Senior Mechanical Engineer, Principal Engineer, Electrical Engineer – Junior, and Electrical Engineer Mid/Journeyman each will require 2 FTEs to fill; Senior Systems Engineer will require 2.5 FTE to fill; Senior Electrical Engineer will require 3 FTEs to fill." As listed this totals to 15.5 FTE. The table on page 2 of Attachment J4 lists 30,912 hours for "Key Personnel (All FTEs). That equates to 16.1 FTE.

Please confirm the total number of key personnel to be proposed.

Answer: Please see the response to questions 5 above. The total number of key personnel to be proposed is 16.

14. Are offerors to assume the delta between the number of personnel at government site in C.7.1 and the total required to be bid (including those listed as key in Attachment J4) will be at contractor site?

Answer: That is correct – the number of FTEs that are not included in government site FTE are expected to provide support from the contractor site.

15. Are the positions listed in C.7.1 that will be provided access to lab space (Engineering Tech V (2 FTEs), Technical Specialist (1 FTE) a subset of those positions listed in the table for government furnished office space or in addition to those positions?

Answer: Lab space is on-site space that is not considered government furnished office space – it’s in addition to government furnished office space.

16. The table on page 2 of Attachment J4 lists 2400 labor hours for "Management & Support" yet there is no corresponding LCAT description.

Please provide the LCAT and qualifications that apply to these hours.

Answer: The total Task Order hours identified includes a Labor Category for Management and Support, which includes other corporate and local-level management as well as general and administrative support to include administrative/financial/clerical, program control, and Task Order business management/administration (to include progress report preparation) except for those oversight or administrative functions performed by the Prime Contractor’s proposed Program Manager. The Offeror is permitted to propose such effort as a direct charge if it is in accordance with its standard DCAA-approved practice to do so. For Offerors whose standard DCAA approved practice is to include Administrative Program Management Support as an overhead function, the hours identified above shall still be proposed, but with a $0 rate.

Additionally, the cost narrative shall specify that all Administrative Program Management Support costs are already included in the applicable indirect rate and already incorporate in the overall proposed Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee. If no Administrative Program Management Support costs are proposed as a direct charge. The costs will NOT be allowed as a direct charge under the resulting Task Order. The requirement applies equally to the Prime and any Sub-Contractor(s), if applicable.

17. Per the QA released on 4/24/2026, a Software Development Plan is no longer required.

Please confirm clauses C-227-H007, E-246-H020, E-246-H023, and CDRL A010 will be removed in the final RFP accordingly.

Answer: Clauses C-227-H007, E-246-H020, and E-246-H023, and CDRL A010 will be removed.

18. Section L, Element B Management Approach contains an element for offerors to "Describe a detailed plan of action addressing all required steps that need to be taken to fully assume responsibilities under this task order within a proposed transition period."

Please confirm if the government is requesting a 30-day transition period.

Answer: The Government expects a 30-day transition period.

19. Respectfully request the government provide a Word version of Attachment J.5 – Past Performance Reference so that offerors have an editable format using solicitation font and page limit requirements to provide their past performance references.

Answer: The Government will provide a Word Version of Attachment J.5 – Past Performance Reference upon release of the Request for Proposal.

20. In the case of any discrepancies between Attachment J8 Statement of Work and the Solicitation Section C pages 12-19, please confirm which document prevails.

Answer: Statement of Work requirements will be removed from Section C and will be fully contained in Attachment J.8.

21. My company is interested in subcontracting opportunities for this solicitation. Is there a list of industry day attendees that could be shared?

Answer: H30 Industry Day Registrations have been posted as an attachment to the draft solicitation.