Requirements and Capabilities Analysis Assistant Administrator

Austin Gould is the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)’s Assistant Administrator for Requirements and Capabilities Analysis (RCA). He is responsible for strengthening TSA’s operational capabilities and achieving optimal mission performance through analysis and innovation. Mr. Gould has served in this role since June of 2018 and is a member of the Senior Executive Service. Mr. Gould also serves as the TSA Component Requirements Executive. In this role, he identifies the operational requirements for transportation security equipment at airports nationwide. He also directs TSA’s capability management functions, ensuring robust support of equipment across the enterprise. Mr. Gould also supervises the TSA risk analytics and procedures groups and served as Chairman of the Department of Homeland Security Joint Requirements Council from 2019-2021.

Concurrently, Mr. Gould served as the Acting Executive Assistant Administrator for Operations Support. In this role, he supervised intelligence and analysis of threats related to transportation security and oversaw all TSA enrollment, vetting, credentialing, and prescreening programs. He was also responsible for the development and coordination of multimodal security policy and programs, including cyber, oversaw inter-agency research and development efforts, and improved operational capabilities in order to meet the missions of TSA.

Prior to joining TSA, Mr. Gould was a Captain in the U.S. Coast Guard. During his 30-year Coast Guard career, he worked in a variety of operational and acquisition management positions including serving as the Program Manager for the Coast Guard Research, Development, Test and Evaluation Program, leading efforts to identify and test innovative technologies to improve operational capabilities. He also orchestrated all test and evaluation activities for the Coast Guard, ensuring assets met or exceeded operational requirements. 

Mr. Gould also served as the Commander of Coast Guard Sector Miami where he oversaw search and rescue, law enforcement, and pollution response at the Coast Guard’s largest sector. He was also responsible for the safety and security of over 11 million cruise ship passengers traveling through Port Miami and Port Everglades annually. 

He subsequently served as the Chief of Staff for the Seventh Coast Guard District, encompassing South Carolina to the Gulf of Mexico, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Caribbean. In this role, he coordinated the unprecedented response to the 2017 hurricane season, when Hurricanes Irma and Maria impacted the entire region. 

Mr. Gould holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Government from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and a Master of Business Administration degree from New York University. He is a graduate of the Naval Postgraduate School in Acquisition Management and holds a Department of Homeland Security Level III Acquisition Program Management Certificate.