Senior Employee Relations Specialist

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Why choose between doing meaningful work and having a fulfilling life? At MITRE, you can have both. MITRE is a not-for-profit corporation chartered to work for the public interest, with no commercial conflicts to influence what we do. The R&D centers we operate for the government create lasting impact in fields such as cybersecurity, healthcare, aviation, defense, and enterprise transformation. We're making a difference every day—working for a safer, healthier, and more secure nation and world.

Our workplace reflects our values. We offer competitive benefits, exceptional professional development opportunities for career growth, and a culture of innovation that embraces adaptability, collaboration, technical excellence, and people in partnership.

The Senior Employee Relations Specialist serves as a key advisor and investigator on workplace behavior and performance-related matters. This role leads the organization’s efforts to address misconduct, policy violations, and employee disputes in a manner that is fair, legally compliant, and aligned with our mission and values. The Specialist partners closely with managers to administer progressive discipline, investigate concerns, and uphold accountability while fostering a respectful and values-based workplace.

• Serve as the primary resource for addressing workplace behavior concerns, including misconduct, insubordination, harassment, discrimination, and other violations of organizational standards.
• Conduct thorough, impartial investigations into employee complaints and allegations; gather documentation, interview involved parties, and make fact-based determinations.
• Recommend appropriate corrective or disciplinary actions based on the severity of conduct and consistency with organizational precedent.

• Lead and support the progressive discipline process, ensuring consistency, documentation, and alignment with organizational policy and legal standards.
• Coach managers on documentation, feedback delivery, and performance conversations leading up to and including termination, when necessary.
• Draft disciplinary letters, performance improvement plans (PIPs), final warnings, and separation documents with legal and ethical rigor.

• Interpret and enforce employee handbooks, workplace policies, codes of conduct, and behavior expectations.
• Stay current on federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations related to workplace conduct, employee rights, and employer responsibilities.
• Support periodic policy updates and ensure staff and supervisors are educated on key behavior-related expectations.

• Provide employees with clear guidance on complaint procedures and behavioral expectations.
• Identify and mitigate risks related to employee behavior that may impact organizational health or safety.
• Collaborate with legal counsel when necessary on high-risk or escalated matters.

• Develop and deliver trainings for supervisors on appropriate documentation, corrective action, and respectful leadership practices.
• Promote early intervention and resolution strategies to address workplace concerns before they elevate.

• Maintain confidential and accurate records of all disciplinary and conduct-related matters.
• Analyze trends in conduct or policy violations and provide leadership with data-informed insights and recommendations.

• Typically requires a minimum of 5 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Employment Law, Business Administration, or related field; or 3 years and a Master’s degree; or a PhD with relevant experience who can immediately contribute at this job step; or equivalent combination of related education and work experience.
• In-depth understanding of employment law, workplace investigations, and documentation best practices.
• Excellent written communication, including drafting investigative summaries and disciplinary documents.
• Proven skill in gathering…