Contracting officers are not gatekeepers to avoid. They are professionals to know. How to engage appropriately.
June and July are the right time to remind buyers your firm exists. Knowing who you may contact, when you may contact them and what to offer keeps follow-up helpful rather than annoying.
Only the contracting officer can change a contract, the COR monitors it and the program office owns the need. Knowing each role keeps you from acting on direction nobody had authority to give.
Contracting officers work under strict rules about what they can share and accept. Understanding those constraints makes it far easier to approach them professionally and be remembered well.