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industry in Toulouse
Airbus production rates at record highs, a supply chain under pressure, a space sector in the midst of reshaping: companies in the Toulouse area are competing for the same executives. Volta Executive, a recruitment and executive search firm founded by an engineer who worked at Safran, approaches site and programme directors, quality and supply chain directors, and the sector's key managers directly.
The talent pools we map across the Toulouse area
Hiring industrial executives in Toulouse through 2026
A single-industry area where everyone recruits from everyone else
Toulouse is Europe's aerospace capital: Airbus and its supply chain, ATR, the space sector around CNES and Thales Alenia Space, and hundreds of equipment suppliers and design offices. This concentration creates an employment market unique in France: skills circulate in a closed loop between prime contractors and subcontractors, the primes' pay scales pull the whole area upwards, and a tier-2 supplier recruiting a quality manager finds itself in direct competition with Airbus for the same profile.
The production ramp-up is making the shortage worse
The ramp-up of single-aisle production rates is mobilising the whole chain: methods, industrialisation, production quality, supply chain, equipment maintenance. Subcontractors must recruit the same profiles as the prime contractors, with fewer resources, and their only lever is a better-told project and a faster process. That is exactly what direct search brings: reaching profiles who are in post, and convincing them with something other than a pay scale.
Our aerospace credibility: from the inside
The founder of Volta Executive worked at Safran before creating the firm. EN 9100 requirements, programme reviews, ramp-ups, the prime contractor/subcontractor relationship: we know them from the inside. Our dedicated aerospace & defence page details this vertical, and the Toulouse page you are reading adds the local dimension: who is hiring what, at what package level, and where the profiles live.
"I worked at Safran: I know what a ramp-up, a programme review and an EN 9100 audit are. When I assess a quality manager or an industrialisation project manager for a Toulouse site, I talk shop with them: that is what makes someone in post at a prime contractor willing to consider an equipment supplier."
· Florian Beurtey, Founder of Volta Executive, ex-Safran, Mines Saint-Étienne engineer
Industrial manager salaries in Toulouse
Ranges observed in the Toulouse area: aerospace pulls pay scales above the regional average.
| Role | Experience | Median | Senior | Top of market | Shortage | Shortlist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aerospace site / plant director | 15+ years | 100k€ | 120k€ | 145k€ | ●●●●● | Within 10 days |
| Programme manager / aerospace project manager | 8+ years | 62k€ | 75k€ | 90k€ | ●●●●● | Within 10 days |
| EN 9100 quality manager | 7+ years | 54k€ | 66k€ | 78k€ | ●●●●● | Within 10 days |
| Industrialisation / methods manager | 6+ years | 52k€ | 64k€ | 76k€ | ●●●●● | Within 10 days |
| Aerospace supply chain manager | 7+ years | 56k€ | 68k€ | 80k€ | ●●●●● | Within 10 days |
| Supplier quality engineer (SQA) | 4+ years | 46k€ | 56k€ | 66k€ | ●●●●● | Within 10 days |
| Workshop production manager | 6+ years | 50k€ | 62k€ | 72k€ | ●●●●● | Within 10 days |
| Sector quality director | 12+ years | 85k€ | 105k€ | 125k€ | ●●●●● | Within 10 days |
Ranges drawn from our assignments and the Volta Executive 2026 salary barometer, Toulouse area.
Our method ofexecutive search
Scoping the role and the programme
A 1-hour scoping session with the future manager: the role, the programme concerned, the scorecard of expected results, the real salary range in the area. We tell you frankly where your offer stands against the pay scales of Toulouse's primes.
Mapping the sector
Mapping of the search ecosystem: target sites and teams across the aerospace and space chain, prime contractors, tier 1, tier 2, design offices, with no public advert: in an area this interconnected, discretion is a condition for success.
Direct approach and trade assessment
Personalised approach to profiles in post. Assessment by the founder, an engineer who worked at Safran: EN 9100 requirements, ramp-up management, the relationship with the aircraft manufacturer as client. Shortlist of 3 to 5 well-argued finalists within 10 days, hire within 3 weeks.
90-day integration follow-up
Follow-up from the start date through to day 90, regular check-ins with the executive hired and their manager, a 3-month replacement guarantee, extendable to 6. 96% success rate across 120 assignments analysed between 2023 and 2025, Volta Executive and previous firms.
Why Volta Executive rather than a generalist firm?
| Criterion | Volta Executive | Generalist firm |
|---|---|---|
| Knowledge of the aerospace sector | Ex-Safran, sector codes mastered | Varies by firm |
| Recruitment method | Direct search, exclusive mandate | Adverts + CV database, most often |
| Discretion in an interconnected area | No public announcement | The advert circulates across the whole sector |
| Technical assessment | EN 9100, ramp-up, programme reviews | Varies by firm |
| Guarantee after hiring | Replacement 3 to 6 months, 90-day follow-up | Varies by firm |
Our other recruitment areas
Frequently asked questions · Industry search firm, Toulouse
Do you have an office in Toulouse?
Do you work for subcontractors or only the large prime contractors?
Which roles do you recruit in the Toulouse area?
What are your lead times for an aerospace profile?
How much does a recruitment firm cost in Toulouse?
Do you cover the rest of Occitanie?
A leadership role to fill? Let's talk.
A confidential 30-minute conversation with Florian Beurtey, on the role, the timeline and the package.
Assign us a mandateExclusive mandate · Confidential conversation