Altavian is an aerospace and defense company headquartered in Gainesville, FL. Founded in 2011, Altavian grew out of its start-up stages into a small company of over 40 employees. We design, build, and fly small drones (less than 25 pounds). Our engineering team is a multi-disciplinary group with expertise ranging from aerospace, to avionics, software, mechanical design, and electronics. We are a privately held and funded entity with a long track record of success in both the commercial and defense spaces.
ORIGIN AND FOUNDING
Altavian was born out of a special project in the Micro Aerial Vehicle (MAV) Lab at the University of Florida. Wildlife biologists were working on nonobtrusive ways of monitoring various species of wildlife, including Florida manatees. The cofounders of Altavian worked jointly on innovating a drone that fulfill the wildlife biologist’s needs efficiently and without disturbing wildlife. Shortly thereafter, drone design in hand, they entered the UF Office of Technology and Licensing entrepreneurship program. After completing the program, they founded Altavian in 2011 and the US Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville became the company’s first customer.
ESTABLISHED IN GAINESVILLE
Not only is Gainesville Altavian’s birthplace and home, it’s one of the best places for small tech companies in the country with a low cost of living and high quality of life. We are fortunate to have talented individuals with a wealth of experience working at Altavian and in the Gainesville area. Altavian enjoys a remarkably low turnover rate compared to other small defense contractors in other areas of the country.
COMMERCIAL AND DEFENSE
Altavian is unique as a small tech company as we often stand at the intersection of the commercial and defense industries. We are first and foremost a defense contractor. However, our systems have flown for agronomists on the Great Plains, researchers in Mississippi studying the Pearl River Delta, biologists in the Everglades, disaster response teams in Utah, Army Core groups throughout the southeast, and surveyors from the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma. As part of its DOD contracts, Altavian is now developing new systems and components for small reconnaissance drones to keep operators safe in hostile environments. Our goal is to develop the best technology possible to support and protect operators — all while competing with giants like Northrop Grumman, Lockheed, and AeroVironment.
TEAM AND CULTURE
One of Altavian’s strengths is the mix of entry level positions and veteran, experienced roles throughout the company. There is opportunity for anyone at any stage in the career to carve out a unique role and set of responsibilities in this growing company. We regularly offer engineering internships to students at the University of Florida—and some of our top engineers rose from an entry position as an intern.
As a team, we believe in the power of engineering. The persistent theme behind our design efforts is constant and continuous innovation and improvement. We believe any industry or endeavor, commercial or defense, that collects data in the real world can be augmented and improved by drones. Our collective vision is a world where drones can identify and help solve problems in real time, without the need for extra and unnecessary resources or putting a person in harm’s way. That’s the future we want to be a part of, and the one we’re helping to build.
