IIT Engineers in Demand: Defense and Aerospace Vie with Tech Giants for Talent

India's prestigious Institutes of Technology (IITs) are witnessing a surge in recruitment activity from the defense and aerospace sectors, as these companies seek specialized engineers to drive advanced manufacturing and product design initiatives. This growing demand positions them as competitors against major technology corporations, all vying for the same pool of highly skilled graduates.

Skyroot Aerospace, a space-tech startup backed by Temasek, emphasized the emergence of reliable career paths within India for top-tier candidates. In an email to Mint, the company highlighted that the rise of space-tech startups, encompassing both rocket manufacturers like themselves and satellite developers in Hyderabad, Bangalore, and other locations, presents Indian engineers with opportunities to engage in world-class projects domestically.

Skyroot Aerospace, established in Hyderabad by former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) colleagues Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka, has secured $95 million in venture capital, making it the most well-funded space startup in India. The company is targeting its first commercial rocket launch from Indian soil by March 2026. Both Chandana and Daka are alumni of IIT Kharagpur and IIT Madras, respectively. This year marked Skyroot's inaugural structured recruitment campaign across 20 leading Indian institutions, including the IITs, the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, and the Indian Institute of Science. From an applicant pool of 3,500, approximately 65 students received job offers.

The increased enthusiasm among aerospace and defense firms to enlist engineers coincides with a period where a diverse array of both established organizations and emerging companies are actively present at IIT campuses. India's thriving defense industry is now competing not only with high-frequency trading firms offering lucrative compensation packages and Big Tech companies providing global opportunities but also with established manufacturing and financial institutions.

Campus placement drives commenced on December 1st at the older IITs, including Bombay, Delhi, Roorkee, Guwahati, Madras, Kharagpur, and Kanpur, while newer IITs initiated their recruitment processes a couple of months earlier.

Placement teams at various IITs have confirmed the participation of companies such as Nabhdrishti Aerospace, a startup based in Bengaluru, and LAT Aerospace, backed by Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal. These younger firms are competing with the defense divisions of major conglomerates like GE Aerospace, L&T Precision Engineering & Systems, GKN Aerospace, and Tata Advanced Systems.

L&T Precision Engineering & Systems (L&T PES), responsible for the engineering conglomerate's defense and aerospace operations, plans to recruit approximately 175 engineers for its PES IC division from premier institutions like IITs and NITs. This hiring initiative will focus on specialized domains that align with business and project requirements, according to C. Jayakumar, chief human resources officer at Larsen & Toubro Ltd. He added that L&T offers competitive compensation packages to new hires, which are benchmarked against industry standards for defense and aerospace engineering roles and are adjusted based on the institute, role, and trainee category.

Jayakumar further stated that L&T's recruitment strategy is in line with its strategic focus on defense and aerospace, precision engineering systems, and emerging sectors such as industrial electronics and precision products. The company aims to attract fresh engineering talent from top IITs and NITs, concentrating on niche, high-impact areas like embedded systems, power electronics, signal processing, machine learning, artificial intelligence, machine design, radar technologies, and industrial design. These hires will primarily support R&D and advanced engineering functions.

An increased privatization push is enabling India’s top conglomerates to pursue billion-dollar revenue opportunities in defence and space, as previously reported by Mint. Following public sector leaders Hindustan Aeronautics and Bharat Electronics, private firms Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, L&T PES and Tata Advanced Systems were the top three companies pursuing large defence contracts in India under the aegis of the Centre’s 2025 Defence Procurement Manual.

Chaitanya Giri, a space and geopolitics fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, noted that the space sector is characterized by a gradual revenue generation process that is heavily reliant on technological advancements, although geopolitical factors are rapidly gaining importance. Giri added that the private defense sector is experiencing earlier scaling, driven by current geopolitical conflicts, and that companies are likely to increase hiring for specialized prototype development as a key differentiator.

Even smaller companies are joining the competition. Amit Mahajan, a director at publicly listed defense contractor Paras Defence, indicated that the company intends to increase its recruitment efforts across universities this year. Mahajan stated that Paras Defence anticipates exceeding ₹500 crore in annual revenue this fiscal year, largely due to the demand for indigenous defense reference designs, and that the company is formulating its hiring plan to attract engineering talent on campus.

Companies are specifically seeking skills such as an understanding of artificial intelligence (AI) in manufacturing.

According to GKN Aerospace, a UK-based supplier of airframes, engine structures, and landing gear, core strengths such as aerospace fundamentals, structures, materials, avionics, systems engineering, manufacturing and related operations, safety and quality, and programming for engineering applications remain essential. Digital competencies, including data analytics, model-based systems engineering, simulation, and applied AI, are increasingly complementing these foundational skills. The company anticipates sustained long-term demand for skilled engineers, driven by factors such as increased aircraft and aero-engine production, electrification, the transition to more sustainable aviation, and digital transformation in engineering and manufacturing.