Foil Bearing Engineer

About the Company

Barber-Nichols (BN) is a premier provider of custom turbomachinery solutions serving the Defense, Aerospace, Cryogenics, and Energy industries. Our team consists of industry leaders who collaborate closely with equally accomplished customers to deliver technologies that advance their markets and establish enduring partnerships. At BN, we foster a results-driven environment that values professional growth, rewards achievement, and supports innovation. From designing the blower for NASA’s Dragonfly mission to Saturn’s moon Titan to engineering critical components for the U.S. Navy’s MK-48 program, BN’s portfolio spans some of the most exciting and impactful projects in the world.

About the Role

The Foil Bearing Engineer supports turbomachinery product development with a specialized focus on foil bearing modeling, analysis tool development, and integration within high-speed rotating systems. This role applies graduate-level expertise in rotordynamics, fluid-film bearings, thermal-fluids, and computational analysis to deliver high-quality engineering solutions. The engineer independently executes portions of projects, contributes to the development of next-generation foil bearing analysis tools, and collaborates cross-functionally to ensure bearings integrate correctly with compressors, secondary flow systems, and supporting hardware. Although the primary focus is foil bearing technology, this position will also support broader turbomachinery analysis and development, including structural and thermal FEA, CFD, testing, and performance data support.

Responsibilities

• Perform detailed engineering analysis and design of gas foil bearings for high-speed rotating machinery.
• Apply first-principles engineering to analyze 2D compressible flow in gas bearings, thermodynamics, heat transfer, and fluid-structure interactions within foil bearing systems.
• Evaluate bearing performance across operating conditions including speed, load, temperature, pressure, startup, shutdown, and transient events.
• Support bearing sizing, optimization, and integration into turbomachinery designs.
• Develop, maintain, and enhance COMSOL Multiphysics models used for gas foil bearing analysis, incorporating 2D compressible flow, thermal effects, and structural interactions.
• Validate simulation results through comparison with analytical methods and experimental test data.
• Improve model accuracy, computational efficiency, and usability while expanding the organization's technical modeling capability.
• Document computational methods, assumptions, model limitations, and best practices.
• Develop analytical methods and computational tools supporting foil bearing design and analysis.
• Create scripts and automation tools to improve engineering productivity and streamline analysis workflows.
• Collaborate with Barber-Nichols’ Foil Bearings Expert/Technical Fellow and other team members to advance analytical methodologies and implement new modeling capabilities.
• Support manufacturing and processing activities related to foil bearing components, providing technical guidance on materials, coatings, manufacturing processes, tolerances, and assembly methods.
• Support investigation and resolution of manufacturing, quality, and field performance issues affecting foil bearing hardware.
• Support development, qualification, and performance testing of foil bearing systems.
• Analyze test data and correlate results with analytical predictions.
• Participate in troubleshooting, root cause investigations, and continuous improvement of bearing designs.

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering.
• Minimum 2 years engineering experience OR relevant graduate research.
• Strong understanding of: Fluid mechanics, Compressible flow, Thermodynamics, Heat transfer, Numerical methods.
• Experience developing engineering simulations using finite element / multiphysics software.
• Strong analytical problem-solving skills with the ability to work from first principles.
• Ability to communicate technical concepts through written reports and engineering presentations.

Preferred Qualifications

• Graduate degree with emphasis in fluid mechanics, turbomachinery, tribology, or thermal sciences.
• Graduate-level coursework in rotordynamics and fluid-film bearings.
• Experience using subcomponent and system level test data for pumps, compressors, and turbines to validate and refine performance predictions.
• Experience with gas bearings, foil bearings, air bearings, or rotating machinery.
• Experience using MATLAB, Python, or similar engineering programming environments.
• Experience with COMSOL, ANSYS Mechanical, ANSYS Workbench, or related finite element analysis software.
• Experience correlating computational models with experimental data.
• Experience in aerospace, defense, energy, or other high-speed rotating machinery industries.

Benefits

• Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance.
• FSA and HSA with company-paid HSA quarterly contributions.
• Disability, Life, and AD&D Insurance.
• 401(k) with 4% Company Match and Profit Sharing.
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan (NYSE: GHM).
• Generous PTO and Paid Holidays with an option to purchase additional PTO.
• Tuition reimbursement.
• Performance-based bonus program.
• Paid Parental Leave, Military Leave, Jury Duty, and Bereavement Leave.

Pay

The salary range for this role is $80,000 - $100,000, commensurate with the applicant’s experience.

To conform to U.S. Government commercial space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), applicants 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.