She was a science teacher at Hudson's Bay High School in Vancouver, Washington[1] when she was selected in 2004 as an educator mission specialist.

Metcalf spent five years teaching earth science and astronomy at Hudson's Bay High School in Vancouver, Washington.

She is a member of the organizations International Order of the Rainbow for Girls, Phi Beta Kappa, the National Education Association, and The Mars Generation.

On July 20, 2009, Metcalf-Lindenburger sang the national anthem at the Houston Astros game against the St. Louis Cardinals in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing.

On April 16, 2012, NASA announced that Metcalf-Lindenburger would command the NEEMO 16 undersea exploration mission aboard the Aquarius underwater laboratory, scheduled to begin on June 11, 2012, and last twelve days.

On the return journey, Leonardo, the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) inside Discovery's payload bay, was packed with more than 6,000 pounds of hardware, science results and trash.