She worked as the production designer and a producer of the Netflix animated series BoJack Horseman (2014–2020),[1] and co-hosted the podcast Baby Geniuses (2012–2024) with comedian Emily Heller.

[6] Her illustrations and writings have been published in print and online periodicals including The New York Times, McSweeney's, Vanity Fair, and Lucky Peach magazine.

In 2013, Drawn & Quarterly published My Dirty Dumb Eyes, Hanawalt's "one-woman anthology" of comics and illustrations, including previously-commissioned works.

The collected stories and shorts range from autobiographical narratives to cultural observations, frequently featuring anthropomorphic animal-people and scenes of nature rendered in bright, detailed watercolors, and likened by one reviewer to "a grown-up Richard Scarry turned absurdist social commentator.

Unlike her previous two, Coyote Doggirl features a singular narrative and follows its titular character and her trusty steed, Red, on their escape from a vengeful bulldog and his cronies.

[14] In 2019, Netflix released Tuca & Bertie, an adult animated comedy created by Hanawalt, starring Tiffany Haddish and Ali Wong.

[22] Hanawalt appeared on the October 13, 2020, episode of The George Lucas Talk Show with fellow guest Ken Jennings.