Aviation & Aerospace Executive Search
High Altitude Partners places executives across aerospace manufacturing, MRO, and aviation services. Four decades of industry knowledge. A search model built on transparency, not tradition.
Most retained executive search firms charge 25 to 30 percent of a candidate's first-year compensation. That means the higher the salary, the more the firm earns. Think about the incentive that creates. The recruiter is not motivated to find the best fit. They are motivated to find the most expensive candidate you will say yes to.
Then there is the visibility problem. Once the contract is signed, the search disappears behind a curtain. You get a weekly email (maybe), a phone call when the firm has something to show, and very little context in between. You are paying a premium fee for a process you cannot see.
When candidates finally arrive, they come as resumes. One page, maybe two. A list of companies and titles. Nothing about how this person thinks, what motivates them, what they actually want from their next role. You are making a six-figure hiring decision based on a document that tells you almost nothing useful.
And the guarantee? It varies. Some firms offer 60 days. Some offer nothing. Some bury the conditions in the contract. The result is the same: when a hire does not work out, you are back to square one with an empty seat and a bill you already paid.
High Altitude Partners was built to fix every one of those problems.
The High Altitude Model
Fixed fees from $15K, published on our pricing page. The fee is set before the search begins and never changes, regardless of the candidate's salary. You are not penalized for hiring someone great. Simon is not rewarded for pushing someone expensive.
Every client gets a live portal. You see who has been contacted, who has responded, who is in screening, and who is moving to the finalist stage. If Simon can see it, you can see it.
Every finalist has a two to four page self-evaluation covering their career, motivations, leadership style, written by the recruiter. We do ask each candidate to write about the work they are most proud of, in their words written for the hiring team. Clients regularly tell us it reveals more than the first two interview rounds combined.
Every search, every time. If the placement leaves or is let go inside 90 days, Simon reruns the search at no additional cost. We stay invested long after the offer letter is signed.
Four pieces, one promise: you always know what you are paying, what is happening, who you are hiring, and what happens if it does not work.
Who We Work With
The team that got you through your first production ramp is probably not the team that gets you to the next one. You need operators who have done it before, in aerospace manufacturing or MRO, at your stage. We find them. And because the fee is flat, your growth does not make the search more expensive.
Portfolio hires have a clock. You need a search lead who answers the phone, moves fast, and knows aviation well enough to vet candidates without a tutorial. Simon runs every search himself. There is no account manager layer between you and the work.
Your plate is full. You need an aviation executive recruiter who actually knows the sector, presents candidates worth your hiring manager's time, and fits inside a fixed budget line. You get all three, plus a portal that keeps your stakeholders informed.
How a Retained Executive Search Runs
Define the role, the level, the comp, and what success looks like.
A working session (not a form) where Simon learns your business, your team, and what the right hire needs to accomplish in the first 30, 60, and 90 days.
The portal goes live. Outreach begins inside the first week.
You receive access to your client portal immediately. Outreach to targeted candidates starts within days, not weeks. You can watch it happen in real time.
Direct outreach to the people who are not on job boards.
The best leaders in aerospace manufacturing, MRO, and aviation services are not applying to postings. They are heads-down, performing well, and not thinking about leaving. Simon goes to them directly, using a network built over more than 40 years in aviation.
Three to five finalists, each with a written evaluation and a clear recommendation.
Every finalist completes a two to four page self-evaluation. You also receive Simon's recruiter notes and a recommendation for each candidate. No resume dumps. No filler names.
Simon stays in the search through the offer and beyond.
Simon supports the offer negotiation, helps manage the transition, and stays available after the start date. The 90-day hiring guarantee begins on day one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Fixed fees from $15K, with four OTE tiers published on our pricing page. The fee is set before the search opens and never changes, regardless of the candidate's salary. Traditional firms charge 25 to 30 percent of first-year compensation, which means the fee grows every time the offer does. Ours does not.
A percentage-based firm earns more when the candidate's salary is higher, which creates a misaligned incentive. A flat fee firm like High Altitude charges the same amount regardless of the offer. The incentive is to find the right person, not the most expensive one. You know the cost before the search begins.
Most searches produce a shortlist of three to five finalists within four to six weeks. The full search from kickoff to accepted offer typically runs six to ten weeks, depending on the role and how quickly the client moves through interviews. The portal gives you real-time visibility into the timeline.
We place talent from manager level through CEO, exclusively inside aviation and aerospace companies. Common searches include VP of Operations, Director of Manufacturing, Director of Quality, Plant Manager, VP of Supply Chain, Director of MRO, COO, VP of Engineering, Director of Safety, GM, CEO, and Director of Maintenance. If the role sits inside an aviation or aerospace company, we likely cover it.
We work with companies across the broader aviation and aerospace sector, which includes aerospace manufacturing, MRO and maintenance, and aviation services. Manufacturing and MRO are where the majority of our placements land, but aviation as a whole is our domain.
Every search comes with a 90-day hiring guarantee. If the placement leaves or is let go within 90 days, we rerun the search at no additional cost. The guarantee exists because we are confident in the process, and because it aligns our incentive with yours: a hire that sticks.
A resume lists where someone worked and what their title was. Our self-evaluation consists of detailed notes from our recruiting team taken from the in-depth interviews we conduct with the candidate. Clients consistently say it tells them more than the first two rounds of interviews would.
Yes. Simon, co-founder of the aviation practice, runs every aviation search personally. There is no account manager handoff. Simon leads the intake, runs the outreach, conducts the screens, prepares the evaluations, and stays in the search through the offer and beyond. You work with one person from start to finish.
The firm is based in Denver, Colorado. We run searches nationwide. The majority of our placements are roles at aviation and aerospace companies across the country, including on-site positions in manufacturing, MRO, and operations leadership.
Send Simon an email at simon@highaltitudepartners.com or schedule a discovery call. The first conversation is a working session where we define the role, the level, the compensation range, and what success looks like. If the fit is right, the search can kick off within days.
Tell us about the seat. We will show you how we run it.
Founder-led. Denver based. Every search backed by the 90-day guarantee.