Florida Institute Of Technology Inc.

Florida Institute of Technology Inc., doing business as Florida TECH, is a private, non-profit research university based in Melbourne, Florida, that operates as a prime recipient and prime contractor on federal research grants, educational services contracts, and research and development programs across civilian and defense agencies. The institution does not carry set-aside certifications; it competes on full-and-open footing across its portfolio.

Florida TECH's federal footprint centers on research and university-level educational services. The vendor operates across 107 distinct federal customer agencies, with heavy concentration in basic research and advanced space science. By award count, the top five customers—National Science Foundation (109 awards), NASA Shared Services Center (105 awards, $19.4 million combined potential value), Department of the Army (79 awards), Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration (47 awards), and Department of the Navy (34 awards)—account for approximately 48% of recent awards. By potential value, NASA Shared Services Center leads ($19.4 million across 105 awards), followed by Air Force Materiel Command Research Laboratory ($4.7 million across 12 awards), NASA Headquarters ($2.2 million across 7 awards), and Naval Sea Systems Command ($355 thousand across 7 awards). The source data spans recent activity across multiple years and reflects a shift toward research and development: the institution received 51 awards in 2024, 41 in 2025, and 26 through 2026 (year-to-date), indicating active but moderating award velocity.

Representative prime work demonstrates diverse capability across space sciences, materials research, and defense innovation. Florida TECH holds a $1 million Basic Ordering Agreement with the Department of the Navy's Naval Education and Training Command (running through July 2031) for tuition and fees supporting Navy personnel education in engineering, aviation, cybersecurity, and technical disciplines; recent delivery orders under that BOA range from $10 thousand to $12 thousand per placement. On the research side, NASA's Shared Services Center awarded a $55,050 sole-source purchase order (September 2026) for foundational document and engineering data infrastructure, including migrating a Copilot Studio Standards Agent and building a scalable data architecture for NASA's Office of Chief Engineer—work reflecting Florida TECH's specialized expertise in artificial intelligence and machine learning for small-dataset problem-solving. Naval Sea Systems Command awarded a $228,340 sole-source purchase order (December 2024) for laboratory and field biofouling assessment services, with base year plus four option years extending through October 2029, leveraging Florida TECH's Center for Corrosion and Biofouling Control and its exclusive expertise in pressure chamber testing and warm water biofouling investigations. The institution received a $1.298 million definitive contract from the Army Research Institute (September 2022) for cross-domain self-regulation research supporting junior leaders in multi-domain operations. NSF has funded multiple CAREER and early-career projects across materials research, computer science, quantum computing, and coastal environmental science, ranging from $125 thousand to $787 thousand; recent examples include a $787,016 award (August 2025) investigating quantum mechanical processes in reactive oxygen species cell biology, and a $373,253 award (May 2026) on post-quantum security and identity frameworks for 6G wireless infrastructure. NASA funding spans heliophysics, planetary science, and space technology, including a $547,724 grant on solar wind intermittency scaling properties (February 2024) and a $297,283 grant on cryobot design for ocean-world exploration (March 2024). The institution also received a $2.323 million congressionally-directed project grant from NIST (October 2024) to accelerate education and development of engineering students in cyber resiliency and resilience engineering through acquisition of 40 high-performance computing nodes.

Florida TECH operates predominantly as a prime on its grant footprint (93% of recent awards are primes) but engages in subcontract work on larger defense and NASA initiatives. The vendor serves as sub-recipient or subcontractor on awards from Cornell University (US CMS Detector Upgrade Project—multiple sub-awards spanning 2022–2025 for muon subsystem component development), Triad National Security (Los Alamos lab management competition, AI model development and construction services), The Boeing Company (Commercial Crew Program), and DCS Corporation (mission effects analysis using multi-domain sensing). As a prime contractor, Florida TECH subcontracts rarely; SCI data for FY2022 shows zero sub-hours share across prime contracts, indicating the institution typically performs work in-house. The vendor's largest vehicle footprint comprises Army and Navy Basic Ordering Agreements: BOA N0018918GZ063 (Department of the Navy, 16 task orders totaling $159 thousand) and multiple Army BOAs including DAKF1988H0007 (9 task orders) and DAKF4076A0030 (7 task orders).

The institution's research grant portfolio is dominated by federal investment in fundamental science and STEM workforce development. NSF, in particular, has funded dozens of CAREER awards and research initiation grants across mathematics, engineering, computer science, materials, chemistry, and biological sciences. NIH has awarded grants in neuroscience, cardiovascular health, and biomedical engineering. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute funded a $406,221 grant (September 2025) on machine learning-based wearable technology for heart failure monitoring. The National Institute of Mental Health funded a $434,610 grant (December 2024) on light-triggered molecular tools for brain mapping. EPA Region 4 funded a $499,998 grant (June 2025) on modified biochar technology for red tide mitigation. NOAA supported multiple grants on marine harmful algal blooms and ecosystem monitoring. The university frequently serves as a lead recipient on interdisciplinary and cooperative agreements, evidenced by a $5.997 million cooperative agreement from NASA Shared Services Center (August 2025) providing research leadership and peer review mechanisms, and a $942,765 NSF cooperative agreement (July 2024) on advanced manufacturing and microelectronics training for foster youth.

SCI-reported invoicing on federal service contracts (prime records only) totaled $2.2 million in FY2022 across 0.3 FTEs, reflecting a subset of the institution's true federal revenue footprint (SCI covers only service contracts above the $150,000 threshold and excludes grants, goods, and classified work). Median government-paid hourly rates on SCI-reportable contracts ran around $3,727/hr, with rates spanning $2,664/hr at the 10th percentile to $4,791/hr at the 90th percentile, consistent with academic research and engineering consulting labor markets. The institution's federal service engagement through SCI is minimal relative to its grant footprint, indicating Florida TECH derives the bulk of its federal revenue from research grants and educational services, not labor-hour-based service contracts.

Recompete exposure in the next twenty-four months includes 45 awards with combined potential value of $10.2 million. The institution's award trajectory shows moderation from recent peaks—28 awards in 2022, 26 in 2023, 51 in 2024, declining to 41 in 2025 and 26 year-to-date in 2026—suggesting either tightening federal research investment, shift toward multi-year awards, or portfolio consolidation. The institution maintains two named subsidiaries: F I T Aviation LLC and Florida TECH Research Institute LLC, the latter a non-profit limited liability company supporting research and educational missions.