WASHINGTON, DC — NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION

SDVOSB software consulting built for federal agencies, not demo days

Veteran-owned engineering for civilian and defense programs across the NCR. We ship systems that pass ATO, survive administration changes, and still run five years from now.

Veteran-Owned SDVOSB
001 / 005 Field Conditions

Most federal software projects fail at the seams between code, compliance, and contracting

Situation

The pattern is familiar across the NCR. A program office buys a flashy prototype tied to a political priority. Twelve months in, the ATO package isn't started, the prime's offshore team doesn't understand FISMA, and the SSP is a Word document nobody updates. Section 508 gets bolted on at UAT. Salesforce or ServiceNow integrations are stubbed with mock data. When the administration pivots, the system is half-built and unsupportable — so the next contract starts over. Meanwhile the agency still needs the function the system was supposed to deliver.

  • ATO packages started after code freeze, blowing schedule by 6-12 months
  • AI pilots that can't move past prototype because data never cleared the boundary
  • Legacy ColdFusion, .NET Framework, or Oracle Forms systems nobody will touch
  • Prime contractors staffing junior offshore teams against senior federal problems
4-7 mo
Typical ATO timeline on inherited platforms
SDVOSB
Sole-source eligible to $5M civilian / $7.5M DoD
100% US
US-based engineers, no offshore labor
002 / 005 Operational Approach

How we ship software inside the federal envelope without surprises at ATO time

  1. STEP-01

    Map the authorization boundary first

    Before a line of code, we draw the system boundary, data flows, and inheritance from FedRAMP-authorized platforms (typically AWS GovCloud or Azure Government). This drives the SSP, control selection, and what your AO will actually sign.

  2. STEP-02

    Build to NIST 800-53 from day one

    Controls are wired into CI/CD: SCA, SAST, container scanning, signed artifacts, and evidence collection feed eMASS or Xacta automatically. No retrofitting at week 40. Section 508 checks run in the same pipeline as unit tests.

  3. STEP-03

    Integrate AI where it survives review

    Claude and GPT integrations route through approved gateways with prompt logging, PII redaction, and model cards documented for the ISSO. RAG over agency content uses isolated vector stores, not public endpoints. No data leaves the boundary.

  4. STEP-04

    Procure through the right vehicle

    We deliver under SDVOSB sole-source up to $5M civilian / $7.5M DoD, GSA MAS IT, SEWP V resellers, and agency BPAs. We help your contracting shop pick the path with the shortest runway to award.

  5. STEP-05

    Hand off with operators, not slideware

    Final delivery includes runbooks, on-call rotations, POA&M closure plan, and a 90-day stabilization window. Your government team can run it, audit it, and extend it without us — that is the point.

YAML PATTERN
# .github/workflows/fedramp-pipeline.yml
# Pipeline gates for a moderate-impact system in AWS GovCloud
name: build-scan-evidence
on: [push, pull_request]

jobs:
  compliance-gates:
    runs-on: self-hosted-govcloud
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: SAST (SonarQube on-prem)
        run: sonar-scanner -Dsonar.qualitygate.wait=true

      - name: Dependency scan (SCA)
        run: trivy fs --severity HIGH,CRITICAL --exit-code 1 .

      - name: Container scan
        run: trivy image --ignore-unfixed $IMAGE_TAG

      - name: Section 508 / WCAG 2.1 AA
        run: npx pa11y-ci --threshold 0

      - name: Generate OSCAL component definition
        run: oscal-cli generate --profile NIST_SP-800-53_rev5_MODERATE

      - name: Push evidence to eMASS
        env:
          EMASS_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.EMASS_API_KEY }}
        run: ./scripts/emass-upload.sh artifacts/evidence/

      - name: Sign + attest artifact (Sigstore)
        run: cosign sign --key awskms:///alias/build-signer $IMAGE_TAG

Representative CI pipeline we wire into client repos targeting FedRAMP Moderate. Evidence collection is automated so ATO packages assemble themselves.

003 / 005 Common Questions

Field FAQ.

Are you actually SDVOSB certified, and what does that mean for my contracting officer?

Yes — VooStack is certified through the SBA's Veteran Small Business Certification (VetCert) program, which replaced the old VA CVE process in 2023. For your contracting officer, that means we're eligible for SDVOSB set-asides and sole-source awards up to $5M for civilian agencies and $7.5M for DoD. We can provide our certification letter, SAM.gov registration, UEI, and CAGE code on first call.

Which procurement vehicles can you deliver under in the National Capital Region?

We work under SDVOSB set-aside and sole-source authority, GSA MAS IT (Special Item Numbers for IT professional services and cloud), SEWP V through partner primes, agency-specific BPAs, and OTA arrangements for defense work. For task orders under existing IDIQs, we frequently subcontract to primes who need cleared SDVOSB participation to meet small-business goals.

How do you handle FedRAMP and ATO without burning the whole budget on paperwork?

We build the SSP, control implementation statements, and POA&M alongside the code rather than after. Evidence collection — vulnerability scans, access reviews, configuration baselines — runs in CI and lands in eMASS or Xacta automatically. For systems inheriting from FedRAMP Moderate platforms like AWS GovCloud, we typically cut ATO timelines from 12-18 months down to 4-7 months.

Can you integrate Claude or GPT into agency workflows given the data restrictions?

Yes, when scoped correctly. For controlled unclassified information, we route through AWS Bedrock in GovCloud (Claude available) or Azure OpenAI Government. Prompts and completions are logged for FOIA and IG review, PII is redacted pre-flight, and RAG uses isolated vector stores inside the authorization boundary. We do not connect agency data to public API endpoints.

Do your engineers hold clearances?

A portion of our bench holds active Secret and TS/SCI clearances; others are public-trust eligible. For classified work we staff from the cleared pool and can sponsor additional clearances when contract terms support it. For most civilian agency work — Treasury, HHS, USDA, Commerce — public trust suitability is sufficient and we move faster there.

What does 'political-cycle resilience' actually mean in how you build?

Administrations change priorities every two to four years. Systems built around one administration's signature initiative tend to die with it. We design for the boring layer underneath: identity, data, integration, audit. That work survives reorgs because the agency still has to run payroll, process claims, and answer Congress regardless of who is in the building.

How do you handle Section 508 accessibility — is it a checkbox or built in?

Built in. Every component in our front-end libraries ships with ARIA roles, keyboard navigation, and screen-reader testing. Pa11y and axe-core run in CI and fail the build on WCAG 2.1 AA violations. We test with NVDA and JAWS before delivery. Retrofitting 508 compliance at the end of a project typically costs 3-5x what building it in costs.

Can you augment an existing federal program team rather than take the whole contract?

Often the right move. We embed senior engineers — typically 10-20 year operators — into your existing program as staff augmentation under SDVOSB set-aside or through a prime. They work your tickets, attend your standups, and follow your security plan. This is useful when you have a prime you like but need specific depth in cloud, AI integration, or modernization.

Where are you physically located and can you work on-site in DC?

We are US-based and work on-site across the National Capital Region — agency facilities in DC, Northern Virginia, and suburban Maryland. For SCIF work we send cleared staff to your space. For unclassified work we mix on-site presence (typically 2-3 days a week) with remote development against GovCloud environments. No offshore labor on any engagement.

Next step

Have an ATO deadline, a recompete, or a stalled modernization? Let's talk.

Talk to a VooStack operator. We respond within one business day.