Senior Human Resources Generalist

A Day in Your Life at MKS:

As the Senior HR Business Partner, People Relations, you will serve as the primary site-based HR partner for employees and leaders, fostering a positive workplace culture, addressing employee relations matters, and driving local talent initiatives, strengthening employee engagement, and helping teams grow and succeed while fostering a culture of accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement.

This role partners closely with site leadership and HR colleagues to support employee engagement, performance, development, compliance, and organizational effectiveness while ensuring consistent employee experience aligned with company values and business objectives. In this role, you will report to the HR Manager, People Relations (PSD/MSD).

You will supervise and develop an Associate HR Generalist.

You Will Make an Impact By:

• Partnering with the General Manager and site leadership to support workforce planning, organizational effectiveness, employee engagement, change management, leadership development, and other people initiatives that drive business success.
• Serving as the primary employee relations partner for the Irvine site, proactively addressing workplace concerns through coaching, conflict resolution, investigations, corrective actions, employee meetings, exit interviews, and other employee relations activities while ensuring fair, consistent, and compliant outcomes.
• Coaching and developing leaders on employee relations, performance management, communication, policy interpretation, leadership effectiveness, talent development, and succession planning to strengthen organizational capability.
• Driving employee engagement and workplace culture initiatives by analyzing employee feedback, engagement survey results, workforce trends, and other talent metrics to develop and implement action plans that enhance the employee experience and organizational effectiveness.
• Ensuring compliance with employment laws, company policies, and HR processes while maintaining appropriate documentation, leveraging Workday and workforce data to identify trends, provide insights, and support informed decision-making.
• Collaborating with Global HRBPs, HR Centers of Excellence, and People Operations to implement enterprise talent processes, connect employees and managers to the appropriate HR resources, and lead site and enterprise HR projects that support business objectives and continuous improvement.

Skills You Bring:

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Organizational Development, or a related field, with 5+ years of progressive HR experience.
• Demonstrated employee relations expertise, including conducting investigations, resolving workplace conflicts, administering corrective actions, and interpreting company policies and employment laws. Experience with reductions in force.
• Strong business partnership, coaching, and influencing skills with the ability to build credibility and effectively support leaders at all levels of the organization.
• Experience supporting employee populations in manufacturing, operations, engineering, or product development environments, with a working knowledge of federal, state, and local employment laws and HR compliance requirements.
• Ability to leverage workforce data and HR metrics to identify trends, develop solutions, and drive improvements in employee engagement, retention, and organizational effectiveness.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, project management, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities, navigate sensitive and confidential situations, drive change, foster a positive workplace culture, and support talent-related initiatives.

Preferred Skills:

• Master's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Organizational Development, or a related field.

• PHR, SPHR, SHRM-CP, or SHRM-SCP certification.
• Experience conducting workplace investigations and managing complex employee relations issues in California.
• Experience leveraging Workday HRIS, engagement survey platforms, and workforce analytics to drive business decisions.
• Demonstrated success partnering with HR Centers of Excellence (Talent Management, Compensation, Talent Acquisition) and HR Business Partners in a matrixed organization.
• Experience supporting organizational change initiatives, workforce planning, talent reviews, succession planning, and leadership development programs.
• Experience supporting large employee populations within a manufacturing or operational site environment.

Supervisory Scope:

• Directly supervise and develop one HR team member in Irvine

In addition to the above responsibilities, the fo