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Barber-Nichols

Designs and manufactures turbomachinery components

Buyer

Full-TimePosted on 10/20/2026
$80k - $95k+ 4% 401(k) Match + Profit Sharing + Employee Stock Purchase Plan + Performance-Based Bonus
Senior
Bachelor's
Arvada, CO, USA
In PersonTravel up to 10% of working time.
Operations & LogisticsProcurement & Sourcing
No H1B Sponsorship
US Citizenship Required

About the job

Requirements
  • A bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain, or a similar field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
  • At least five years of purchasing experience in a manufacturing environment.
  • Willingness to work overtime as required.
  • Willingness to travel up to 10% of working time.
  • Proficiency with word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, project management, enterprise resource planning, database, and specialized engineering application software.
  • Ability to abide by company, client, and regulatory-agency policies and safety programs.
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills.
  • Strong organizational and time-management skills.
  • High attention to detail.
  • Ability to plan and implement objectives within established timelines and work schedules.
  • Ability to analyze problems and develop effective solutions at strategic and functional levels.
  • Ability to work independently with minimal direction and within a team-oriented culture.
Responsibilities
  • Understand purchasing requirements for indirect materials, MRO supplies, facility-related goods and services, and operational needs, and support outside machining and program purchasing as needed.
  • Facilitate communication between internal stakeholders and suppliers.
  • Process purchase requisitions, develop procurement solicitations, negotiate price and delivery, and issue purchase orders.
  • Provide quotation and pricing support to the sales department.
  • Provide periodic status updates and expedite critical orders.
  • Process purchasing requirements for materials, MRO supplies, facilities, services, and equipment.
  • Process material requisitions, purchase orders, purchase-order confirmations, and change orders.
  • Update purchase-order pricing and delivery dates.
  • Review material cost and purchase-price variance reports.
  • Meet deadlines for purchase orders, quotes, submittals, and delivery dates.
  • Review and approve pricing, terms, and freight.
  • Prepare procurement solicitations, including terms and conditions, applicable customer contract flow-down requirements, scope of work, and other acquisition requirements.
  • Review and negotiate quoted material packages.
  • Determine purchasing quantities and methods using appropriate units of measure.
  • Review material packages and subcontract scope of work.
  • Provide product and pricing updates to project teams, estimating, and engineering.
  • Administer return authorizations for discrepant materials, goods, and services.
  • Maintain the preferred and qualified vendor system, analyze delivery and incoming inspection data, and recommend actions.
  • Maintain supplier certification records in the enterprise resource planning system.
  • Conduct vendor surveys and participate in on-site supplier audits.
  • Conduct pricing comparisons, create supplier selection criteria, and identify cost-reduction and supplier-consolidation opportunities.
  • Review vendor performance to ensure company requirements are met.
  • Develop and maintain relationships with suppliers, contractors, service providers, and internal stakeholders.
  • Use enterprise resource planning and material requirements planning demand-generation tools and conduct stock checks to support inventory requirements and maintain appropriate stock levels.
  • Support process improvement and compliance.
  • Review product and service offerings to drive cost reductions.
  • Research and source new products and services.
  • Support control of externally provided processes, products, and services for ISO 9001:2015.
  • Communicate government contractual flow-down requirements as applicable.
Desired Qualifications
  • Material requirements planning or enterprise resource planning experience is desired; Epicor Kinetic experience is preferred.
  • ISO/AS quality-system experience is desired.

About the company

Barber-Nichols designs and builds turbomachinery components and systems for demanding industries. Its products include custom compressors, fans, pumps, turbines, generators, motors, and controllers, tailored for aerospace, cryogenic, defense, and energy applications. BN combines engineering design, fabrication, testing, and contract manufacturing with specialized consulting to deliver turnkey solutions. The company differentiates itself by focusing on customized turbomachinery and related engineering services, backed by decades of experience since 1966 and a broad in-house capability to design, produce, and test complex hardware. BN’s goal is to provide reliable, customized machinery and engineering support that meets stringent industrial requirements.

Company Size

501-1,000

Company Stage

N/A

Total Funding

N/A

Headquarters

Arvada, Colorado

Founded

1966

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What believers are saying

  • August 2026 contract awarded BN $136.5 million for Virginia-class submarine systems.
  • Graham's Q1 2027 defense revenue rose 40% to $41.3 million on submarine work.
  • September 2026 AEDA named BN an Outstanding Large Employer, supporting Arvada recruiting.

What critics are saying

  • Defense sales reached 60% in fiscal 2026; Navy funding delays hit revenue quickly.
  • Graham admits fixed-price Navy contracts run three to seven years, amplifying cost overruns.
  • A single program cancellation or lapse in Navy appropriations threatens BN's existence.

What makes Barber-Nichols unique

  • BN designs AS9100 turbomachinery for Navy submarines, space, and cryogenic propulsion.
  • October 2025 Xdot added patented foil bearings to BN's rotating-machinery stack.
  • BN's 2026 cryogenic test facility pairs high-speed data acquisition with thermal imaging.

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Benefits

  • Health Insurance
  • Dental Insurance
  • Vision Insurance
  • Health Savings Account/Flexible Spending Account
  • Disability Insurance
  • Life Insurance
  • 401(k) Retirement Plan
  • 401(k) Company Match
  • Employee Stock Purchase Plan
  • Paid Vacation
  • Paid Holidays
  • Parental Leave

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

8%

1 year growth

26%

2 year growth

26%
Business Wire
Feb 3rd, 2023
Barber-Nichols, A Graham Corporation Company, Ranked Among The Top 10 Of Glassdoors Best Small Medium Places To Work In 2023

BATAVIA, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Graham Corporation (NYSE: GHM) (“GHM” or “the Company”), a global leader in the design and manufacture of mission critical fluid, power, heat transfer and vacuum technologies for the defense, space, energy and process industries, today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Barber-Nichols, has made Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work in 2023, ranking 10 out of 50 in the U.S. small and medium company category. Glassdoor’s analysis is based solely on the input of employees who complete an anonymous review about their job, work environment and employer.Matt Malone, Vice President and General Manager - Barber-Nichols, commented, “We are honored to be recognized by our workforce as a great place to work. Years of attention to every comment on employee engagement surveys and taking appropriate actions to improve our business and culture is validated by this ranking. But it doesn’t stop here. We expect to further improve by providing our highly engaged workforce with the resources, professional development and culture needed to enable them to overcome the challenges posed by the complex world in which we operate

Barber-Nichols
Nov 28th, 2022
Barber-Nichols Receives Blue Origin Partnerships in Space Award | Barber-Nichols

Barber Nichols Inc. were selected for the Community Service Award in recognition of outstanding contributions to the community through impactful works of service.

Business Wire
Sep 19th, 2022
Barber-Nichols, A Graham Corporation Company, Recognized By Virgin Orbit As A Critical Supplier

BATAVIA, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Graham Corporation (NYSE: GHM), a global leader in the design and manufacture of mission-critical fluid, power, heat transfer, and vacuum technologies for the defense, space, energy, and process industries, announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Barber-Nichols, was named by Virgin Orbit as a critical supplier. “ We are honored to be recognized by Virgin Orbit for the value our solutions and engineering services add to their air-launch liquid rocket engines,” commented Matthew Malone, VP and General Manager of Barber-Nichols. “ For more than 25 years, we have been developing and providing leading technology for the space industry, which includes nearly 10 years in support of Virgin Orbit. I want to thank our employees for making this recognition possible. We look forward to growing our relationship and collaborating on driving innovative solutions well into the future.”

Oil and Gas Press
Mar 24th, 2022
Building Energy Holdings US LLC acquires Barber Nichols Inc.

Mr. Painter, Chair of the Board, commented, “With the acquisition of Barber-Nichols last summer, Building Energy Holdings US LLC expanded its experience requirements to include deeper defense industry knowledge within its mix.

Barber-Nichols
Mar 17th, 2022
Barber Nichols Inc. received award 2020 Aerospace Manufacturer of the Year Award on Mar 17th 22'.

Barber-Nichols won the prestigious and competitive 2020 Aerospace Manufacturer of the Year Award and now is vying to defend the title.