If this is part of the cost of making goods that will be kept in inventory past the end of the year, then you want it in COGS rather than another expense. Per @Anonymous_ , there is a place to enter labor costs as part of the cost of making your products. (Similar to, if you were selling clothes, and you buy fabric and then pay someone to sew it up, the labor is included in the cost of the product.)
For 1099-NEC, you are required to issue a 1099-NEC to any person or business to whom you pay more than $600 in the course of your business. But you do not have to issue a 1099-NEC if the business is an S- or C-corporation or an LLC that is being taxed as an S-corp. You should issue the vendor/subcontractor a W-9 form asking for their tax number. If the vendor believes that they are a type of business exempt from the 1099-NEC requirement, they will return the W-9 form signed but with the tax number blank. You can rely on the vendor's certification if they claim not to be subject to the 1099-NEC requirement. I have posted the W-9 and the 1099-NEC instructions below.
https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-w-9
https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1099mec#en_US_202401_publink100044476
