High Altitude Partners · Emerging Aviation Sectors
New sectors, new roles, the same need for the right person in the right seat. Drones, eVTOL, commercial space, and advanced air mobility require a different kind of search. We know where this talent sits and how to reach it.
The Market
The global drone market was valued at over $54 billion in 2024, projected to exceed $117 billion by 2030. The US space economy stands at $570 billion. SpaceX completed 122 successful launches in 2025 and is accelerating hiring across engineering, manufacturing, launch operations, and infrastructure in direct competition with defence primes for the same talent pool. The Vertical Flight Society estimates 10,000 additional engineers needed across the vertical flight industry over the next decade. The candidate pool for all of it barely exists yet.
Roles We Place
Unmanned Systems
Operational and regulatory leadership for commercial drone programmes. BVLOS operations, FAA Part 107, and large-scale UAS fleet management.
eVTOL & AAM
Bridging aviation regulation and advanced propulsion technology. FAA type certification experience combined with electric or hybrid systems knowledge.
Commercial Space
Launch operations, satellite programme management, and regulatory coordination with FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation.
Engineering Leadership
Technical leadership for programmes at the intersection of aerospace and advanced technology. Candidates often come from defence or autonomous vehicle backgrounds.
Startups & Scale-Ups
Building functions from scratch in budget-constrained environments. People who build, not just manage. Motivated by mission, comfortable with uncertainty.
Regulatory & Certification
FAA and EASA engagement for novel aircraft and UAS programmes. The role that determines whether an innovative product reaches the market.
The best candidates for emerging aviation roles frequently do not come from aviation at all. HAP maps adjacent sectors — defence, autonomous vehicles, advanced manufacturing, software — identifies the profiles that genuinely translate, and makes approaches that are credible in those worlds. That is what separates a search that finds the right person from one that finds the most available person.
Tell us about the role and the technology behind it. We will show you how we reach talent that barely exists in the market yet.