Principal Turbomachinery Engineer

Company: Barber-Nichols, Inc.
Location: Arvada
Posted on: February 15, 2026

Job Description:

Job Description Job Description Description: About Barber-Nichols: Barber-Nichols (BN) is a leading provider of custom turbomachinery for the Defense, Aerospace, Cryogenics and Energy industries. This is a unique place. Our company is made up of people that are at the top of their game. And we are working with customers who are at the top of their game. Together, we help our customers revolutionize their markets and build amazing relationships with them in the process. If you're seeking to work with an amazing team in a “get-it-done” atmosphere that supports your development, and recognizes your achievements, BN is the place for you. Position Summary: The Principal Engineer serves as a technical expert who ensures the proper turbomachinery trades against customer needs are properly evaluated to ensure the end product meets our customer’s system level objectives. Broad expertise across all technical aspects of turbomachinery allows the Principal Engineer to apply intensive and diversified knowledge of engineering principles and practices in broad areas of assignments. Any oversight received is typically in terms of work assignments to support the full product lifecycle with the focus from proposal to nail the concept, feasibility to mitigate risks, development with the proper verification and qualification, and guidance to improve performance over the service life as required. Recent projects our team has led include successfully testing a molten salt pump for next generation nuclear reactors on FLiBe, delivering a blower that will ride on NASA’s Dragonfly to Saturn’s moon Titan, development of a new oxygen fan and water pump for NASA, and successfully developing propellant turbopumps for multiple flight vehicles. The Principal Engineer is regarded as a world class turbomachinery technical expert for developing turbomachines for our customers with a focus on advanced energy, space, thermal management systems, defense and underwater propulsion systems that are the heart of our customer’s system! Key Results Areas: 1. Project owner for early trades/conceptualization efforts for the most challenging turbomachinery programs at Barber-Nichols. Familiarity with sizing and building models for both Rankine and Brayton Cycles to inform customer system design and strategy. In-depth understanding of down-selecting core technologies to inform early turbomachinery concept and project strategies. Proven track record of being able to transition from early trades/conceptualization to project execution team. 2. Ability to provide strong technical contributions and enhance our core capabilities around key technology enablers for clean-sheet turbomachinery designs. Aero/Hydrodynamic Design (Turbines, compressors, fans, blowers, full emissions and partial emission pumps) Bearings (Roller Element – Grease, Oil, Dry-film lube, Hydrodynamic, Hydrostatic, and foil bearings) Seals (Elastomeric, Spring Energized, C-ring, Mechanical Face Seals, etc.) Motors (Permanent Magnet and Induction) Systems/Application Engineering 3. Take ownership and/or mentor more junior team members to meet all customer requirements, including technical capability, schedule milestones, and budgetary constraints on Barber-Nichols most challenging projects. Review project plans, project risk assessments, and project engineering deliverables. Act as a Project Engineer Approver during design review process. Provide technical guidance to programmatic activities such as creating and maintaining project budgets, schedules, and formal design reviews. Lead the technical engineering effort and apply engineering principles to define and analyze the design with minimal oversight. Collaborate with the Controller and Rotating Equipment development teams to ensure sub-system are optimized through verification and qualification Requirements: Qualifications: To qualify for this position, an individual must possess the knowledge, training, experience and abilities required. Education and Training Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent combination of education and experience working in high aptitude manufacturing environment. Experience: Minimum fifteen years related experience focused on turbomachinery clean-sheet design In-depth understanding of bearing technologies and down-selection/analysis of bearing system will be heavily weighted in the down selection of the chosen candidate. Proven rotating machinery expertise and experience with associated systems Comprehensive understanding of rotating machinery design, analysis, test, and troubleshooting. Comprehensive understanding in the following applicable areas of turbomachinery electromechanical design: Mechanical (Aero/hydro, bearings, seal) Permanent Magnet Motor Design Rotordynamics / Vibrations Other: Must be willing to work overtime as required Travel up to 10% of working time. Desired Job Qualification: Experience in Ansys and Solidworks. Applicable training certificates (FEA, CFD, etc) and successful completion of the Engineer-in-Training (E.I.T.) or Fundamentals of Engineering (F.E.) are desirable. A Colorado State Professional Engineer License is desirable. Skills: To perform the job successfully, an individual should demonstrate the following competencies: To perform this job successfully, an individual must have proficiency in word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, project management, enterprise resource planning, database, and specialized engineering application software such as Polarion, SolidWorks; the ability to learn analytical software such as ANSYS, CFX, etc. Ability and willingness to abide by set policies and/or safety programs established by BN, our clients, and/or regulatory agencies which govern our performance and behavior in the normal course of our work while on BNI or the client’s property or job site. Excellent written and verbal communication skills required. Ability to read, analyze, and interpret common scientific and technical journals, financial reports, and legal documents. Strong organizational and time management skills. High attention to detail. Ability to successfully plan and implement objectives within established timelines and work schedules. Ability to analyze problems and develop effective solutions at both strategic and functional levels. Demonstrate behavior consistent with company values. (One-Team-All-In, Foster Each Other’s Strengths, and Connecting Passion with Purpose) Ability to work independently, with minimal direction as a highly motivated self-starter and within a team-oriented culture. ITAR Requirements: To conform to U.S. Government commercial space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), 8 U.S.C. § 1324b(a)(3), applicants for employment at Barber-Nichols must be a U.S. citizen or national, lawfully admitted for permanent residence into the U.S. (i.e., current green card holder), or lawfully admitted as a refugee or granted asylum under 8 U.S.C. § 1157-1158. Security clearance is required for this position. To conform to U.S. Government international trade regulations, applicant must be a U.S. Citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State or U.S. Department of Commerce. Equal Opportunity Employer: Barber-Nichols is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any protected status as defined by law. Compensation and Benefits : The salary range for this role is $165,000 - $240,000. This range represent the anticipated minimum and maximum base for this position based upon a good faith and reasonable estimate. The final compensation for this position will be set based on the applicant’s qualifications (education, training and/or experience related to this role), and therefore, may fall outside the range shown, depending on the circumstances. To view our benefits provided please visit Careers | Barber-Nichols. Barber Nichols anticipates the application window closing approximately 30 days from the date the notice was posted. However, factors such as candidate flow and business necessity may require Barber Nichols to shorten or extend the application window.

Keywords: Barber-Nichols, Inc., Snowmass , Principal Turbomachinery Engineer, Engineering , Arvada, Colorado