[1] After returning to academics, she and her partner Dr. Kurt Squire moved to University of California, Irvine where they continue to co-direct the Games+Learning+Society (GLS) Center today.

After earning her doctorate, Steinkuehler joined the faculty at University of Wisconsin as an Assistant Professor of Digital Media in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction[2] where she taught classes on videogames and learning and research methods for online communities.

After a period working in the Obama White House Office of Science and Technology,[citation needed] Steinkuehler returned to academic research with a new focus on field-building efforts.

[citation needed] In 2017, Steinkuehler and her partner Dr. Kurt Squire moved to the Department of Informatic] at University of California, Irvine and re-established the Games+Learning+Society (GLS) Center as part of the trans-departmental Connected Learning Lab at UCI.

[citation needed] Steinkuehler is married to Kurt Squire, former Creative Director at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery,[5] and also a professor at University of California, Irvine.