Employee Relations Investigator

CHAOS Industries; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 167,000 - 209,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

401k with company match

Free daily lunch onsite

Unlimited PTO

Relocation assistance

Job summary

CHAOS Industries in Washington, DC area is hiring an Employee Relations Investigator to lead complex workplace investigations and shape policy initiatives. You will own investigations from intake to closure, interview stakeholders, and draft objective reports with clear findings.

The role requires a JD from an accredited law school; active bar membership is not required. Travel up to 10% is anticipated as needed for interviews across company locations.

Qualifications

• JD from an accredited law school; bar membership not required.
• Extensive experience leading complex workplace investigations.
• Ability to conduct sensitive interviews and evaluate evidence.
• Experience drafting employee relations policies.
• Ability to design practical frameworks and playbooks.
• Working knowledge of U.S. employment laws.
• Experience managing concurrent sensitive matters.
• Strong written findings and stakeholder communication.

Responsibilities

• Independently lead complex workplace investigations involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and other potential policy violations.
• Own investigations from intake through closure, including defining scope, developing investigation plans, conducting interviews, evaluating evidence and credibility, and preparing objective findings.
• Produce clear, well-supported investigation reports and present findings and recommendations to appropriate stakeholders.
• Manage concurrent cases, maintain accurate records, communicate progress, and promptly escalate significant risks.
• Partner with HR and Legal on interim measures, corrective action recommendations, and post-investigation follow-up.
• Draft, review, and update employee relations policies, procedures, and guidance in partnership with Legal and relevant stakeholders; support implementation and ongoing maintenance.
• Design and implement frameworks for case intake and triage, risk assessment, escalation, investigation standards, decision-making consistency, and post-investigation monitoring.
• Improve employee relations workflows, including stakeholder handoffs, documentation standards, case-management practices, and reporting.
• Analyze case trends and process effectiveness to identify systemic concerns, recommend preventive measures, and evaluate improvements.
• Develop practical playbooks, templates, and training that help HR and managers apply policies and processes consistently.
• Own assigned projects from problem definition through stakeholder alignment, rollout, and measurement.
• Travel up to 10% to company locations for interviews and investigations.

Skills

Investigations

Policy development

Interviewing

Report writing

Stakeholder management

Legal liaison

Discretion

Communication

Education

Juris Doctor (JD)

Job description

Washington, District of Columbia, United States

CHAOS Industries is redefining modern defense with a multi-product portfolio that gives the ultimate advantage—domain dominance. The company's products are powered by Coherent Distributed Networks (CDN™), empowering warfighters, commercial air operators, and border protection teams to act faster, adapt rapidly, and stay ahead of evolving threats.

CHAOS Industries was founded in 2022 and has raised a total of $1 billion in funding from leading investors, including 8VC, Accel, and Valor Equity Partners. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles, with offices in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, San Diego, and London. For more information, please visit www.chaosinc.com .

Role Overview

As an Employee Relations Investigator, you will build trust through fair investigations, clear policies, and consistent processes for addressing workplace concerns. You will independently lead complex investigations and help shape how the company prevents and responds to employee relations issues. Beyond your investigation caseload, you will own assigned policy initiatives, process improvements, and the creation of practical employee relations frameworks, from identifying the need through design, implementation, and evaluation.

This role requires a JD and operates in an employee relations capacity. The position does not provide legal advice or serve as company counsel; active bar membership is not required.

Responsibilities

• Independently lead complex workplace investigations involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation, bullying, and other potential policy violations, including matters involving senior leaders.
• Own investigations from intake through closure, including defining scope, developing investigation plans, conducting interviews, evaluating evidence and credibility, and preparing objective findings.
• Produce clear, well-supported investigation reports and present findings and recommendations to appropriate stakeholders.
• Manage concurrent cases, maintain accurate records, communicate progress, and promptly escalation significant risks.
• Partner with HR and Legal on interim measures, corrective action recommendations, and post-investigation follow-up.
• Draft, review, and update employee relations policies, procedures, and guidance in partnership with Legal and relevant stakeholders; support implementation and ongoing maintenance.
• Design and implement frameworks for case intake and triage, risk assessment, escalation, investigation standards, decision-making consistency, and post-investigation monitoring.
• Improve employee relations workflows, including stakeholder handoffs, documentation standards, case-management practices, and reporting.
• Analyze case trends and process effectiveness to identify systemic concerns, recommend preventive measures, and evaluate improvements.
• Develop practical playbooks, templates, and training that help HR and managers apply policies and processes consistently.
• Own assigned projects from problem definition through stakeholder alignment, rollout, and measurement.
• Travel: Occasional travel to company locations for interviews and investigations; anticipated up to 10%, subject to business needs.
• Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school. Active bar membership is NOT required.
• Demonstrated experience independently conducting complex workplace investigations from intake through written findings, including discrimination, harassment, and retaliation allegations.
• Ability to conduct sensitive interviews, evaluate conflicting evidence, assess credibility, and prepare objective reports explaining the reasoning supporting findings.
• Experience drafting or materially revising employee relations policies, procedures, or guidance and supporting their implementation.
• Demonstrated ability to create and implement practical frameworks, playbooks, or workflows that improve consistency, accountability, and execution.
• Working knowledge of U.S. employment laws and workplace policies sufficient to recognize issues and identify matters requiring Legal’s involvement.
• Experience managing concurrent sensitive matters and cross-functional projects with sound judgment, discretion, and reliable documentation.
• Ability to communicate difficult findings, build stakeholder alignment, and translate complex issues into clear, actionable guidance.

Preferred Requirements

• Experience investigating executive-level allegations, multiple-complainant matters, or systemic workplace concerns.
• Experience developing policies and investigation processes across multiple states or countries.
• Experience establishing employee relations governance, including policy ownership, approval processes, review cycles, and exception handling.
• Experience using case data and operational metrics to evaluate frameworks, improve processes, and guide preventive initiatives.

Why CHAOS?

• Health Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision benefits 100% paid for by the company
• Additional benefits: 401k (+ 50% company match up to 6% of pay), FSA, HSA, life insurance, and more
• Our Perks: Free daily lunch while you're working onsite, fully-stocked kitchen, unlimited PTO, casual dress code
• Compensation Components: Competitive base salaries, generous pre-IPO stock option grants, relocation assistance, and (coming soon!) annual bonuses
• Team Growth: 500+employees and counting across 5 global offices

Salary Range: $167k - $209k

The stated compensation range reflects only the targeted base compensation range and excludes additional earnings such as bonus, equity, and benefits. If your compensation requirements fall outside of the range, we still encourage you to apply. The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a range of compensation factors, inclusive of base salary only. Actual salary offer may vary based on (but not limited to) work experience, education and/or training, critical skills, and/or business considerations.

Recruiting Agencies: CHAOS Industries does not accept unsolicited resumes or outreach. Unsolicited submissions will not be reviewed or compensated.

#LI-onsite

Please note this position does not necessarily require eligibility to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance.

As set forth in CHAOS Industries’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service‑connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.