She is the Curtis and Kathleen Marble Professor of Astrophysics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she is also the dean of the university's school of science.

[1] Mavalvala is best known for her work on the detection of gravitational waves in the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) project,[1][2] and for the exploration and experimental demonstration of macroscopic quantum effects such as squeezing in optomechanics.

[2][7] As a graduate student at MIT, she conducted her doctoral work under Rainer Weiss, where Mavalvala developed a prototype laser interferometer for detecting gravitational waves.

[12] Mavalvala was among the team of scientists who, for the first time, observed ripples in the fabric of spacetime called gravitational waves.

Prominent results from her group in this area included the cooling of a centimeter-scale object to a temperature of 0.8 kelvin and the observation of a 2.7-kilogram pendulum near its quantum ground state.

Mavalvala identifies as a lesbian and speaks openly on her sexual orientation and family history as a Pakistani immigrant, describing herself as an "out, queer person of color.

In an interview with the Pakistani newspaper Dawn, Mavalvala states, "I grew up in a family where the stereotypical gender roles were not really observed.

As a young child Mavalvala was frequently involved in handy work, and was not bound to stereotypical gender roles in subcontinent culture, due to the manner in which her sister and she were raised.

People should just do what they enjoy most and I think for all of society whether it's in Pakistan or elsewhere we have to create opportunities for young girls to do what they're good at and do what they love to do must cultivate the sense of wonder in a child.