[4] Prior to doctoral studies, she was the Director of Health and Social Services for the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association and also served as a program manager for the State of Alaska.

Sutcliffe and Timothy Vogus of Vanderbilt University empirically validated the well-established theoretical construct of high reliability organizing and demonstrated its importance for healthcare.

[3][2] In the domain of patient safety, Sutcliffe has applied this construct to how healthcare teams can become alert and aware of unfolding untoward situations as they evolve and more effectively cope.

[3] In addition, Sutcliffe is an active consultant on matters related to safety organizing and safety culture for a variety of entities, including governmental agencies such the United States Forest Service and Fire Department of New York, non-governmental organizations such as the Mayo Clinic and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, and private multinational companies such as General Electric, Hewlett-Packard, and Target.

[19][4] She has provided keynote addresses and training workshops around the world to leadership teams and to industry and professional groups such as Bombardier's annual Safety Standdown, the European Society for Anesthesiology, and the Swiss Nuclear Regulatory Committee.

In 2012, Sutcliffe was appointed by the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine to a research panel charged with studying and providing recommendations related to workforce resilience to the Department of Homeland Security.