Indias spacetech boom fuels race for specialized talent

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) strengthening their workforce in propulsion, satellite systems, avionics and artificial intelligence.

As the country’s aerospace, drones and space technology industry is projected to grow more than five-fold to USD 44 billion by 2033, creating over 200,000 new jobs according to Adecco India, companies are finding that hiring has become as critical as technological innovation.

The talent challenge comes amid reports that ISRO has initiated measures to curb attrition, marking what many observers describe as only the second major talent drain in the organisation’s history after the IT boom of the early 1990s lured engineers to the private technology sector.

The movement of talent from ISRO to private firms has attracted considerable attention following reports of the national space agency attempting to retain experienced scientists.

As per the annual report 2025- 2026 of ISRO, it employed 14,637 personnel, including 11,008 scientific and technical staff, with women accounting for 2,742 employees (18.7%) overall.

Navigation and Control (GNC), propulsion systems, cryogenic hardware, turbomachinery and integrated flight hardware,” said Immanuel Louis, Co-Founder, Astrophel Aerospace.

According to Louis, theoretical knowledge alone is insufficient for space missions, where engineers must understand manufacturing constraints, testing protocols, failure analysis and safety requirements.

As a result, the company spends considerable time mentoring high-potential engineers, exposing them to practical testing and giving them ownership of complete subsystems instead of relying solely on lateral hiring.

A similar challenge exists at EON Space Labs, where hiring increasingly revolves around multidisciplinary capabilities rather than expertise in a single domain.

“We are building electro-optical and infrared payloads for satellites, drones and ground platforms, which requires professionals across optics, embedded systems, AI, manufacturing, image processing and systems engineering,” said Punit Badeka, Founder, EON Space Labs.

He noted that while many engineers possess deep knowledge in one discipline, space-grade product development demands system-level thinking, where professionals understand how components perform under vibration, thermal stress, power limitations and mission-specific constraints.

“The combination of technical depth and practical product maturity is still relatively limited in India, although it is improving rapidly,” Badeka said.

Both startups agreed that the most difficult positions to fill are among the most specialised in aerospace engineering.

Astrophel Aerospace identifies GNC specialists, liquid propulsion engineers, turbomachinery experts, cryogenic engineers, embedded electronics professionals and experienced systems engineers as the scarcest talent.

These roles require a rare blend of theoretical expertise, hands-on hardware development and the ability to integrate multiple complex systems into reliable flight platforms.

At EON Space Labs, demand is particularly high for optical design engineers, infrared imaging experts, embedded systems developers, AI engineers working on image analytics and payload integration professionals.

To address these shortages, both companies have diversified their recruitment strategies beyond conventional campus hiring.

Talent is sourced through specialised university partnerships, internships, engineering communities, employee referrals and lateral hiring from adjacent industries such as defence electronics, automotive, precision manufacturing, robotics and embedded systems.

Instead of focusing solely on academic credentials, recruiters increasingly evaluate candidates through technical discussions, design assignments, previous hardware projects and their ability to solve real engineering problems.

Louis described talent mobility as a natural consequence of a growing ecosystem, while stressing that it must occur responsibly with due regard for confidentiality, intellectual property and the strategic importance of the space sector.

“The objective should be to expand the overall talent pool rather than simply reshuffle a limited number of experienced engineers,” he said.

Badeka echoed similar sentiments, describing ISRO as the foundation upon which India’s private space industry has been built.

“Many professionals who move to startups bring invaluable experience that accelerates technology development and commercialisation,” he said.

Rather than viewing the talent movement as a zero-sum game, he believes deeper collaboration between ISRO and private companies can strengthen India’s overall space ambitions.

The opening of India’s space sector to private participation has also fundamentally altered what engineers expect from employers.

Earlier, careers in space were largely limited to ISRO and a handful of public-sector organisations. Today, professionals can choose from launch vehicle developers, satellite manufacturers, payload companies, drone startups, defence-tech firms and space analytics businesses.

As India’s commercial space economy accelerates, industry leaders believe the real race will not be over who hires the fastest, but over who develops the strongest engineering ecosystem capable of supporting the country’s long-term ambitions in space exploration, commercial launches and advanced satellite technologies