[1][2] After graduation from Carnegie Mellon, Freeman was a researcher, professor, and administrator at the University of California, Irvine's Department of Information & Computer Science from 1971 to 1987, where he focused on artificial intelligence and software engineering research, funded primarily by the National Science Foundation.

During the course of his career at UC Irvine, Freeman also administered the undergraduate and graduate programs and served as the department chair.

Freeman was selected as the college's founding dean and oversaw the program's transition and subsequent rapid growth; he would hold this post until 2002.

[1] From 2002 to 2007 Freeman was held the position of Georgia Tech professor while he served as one of seven assistant directors of the National Science Foundation.

[1] Since 2007, Freeman has been the director of the Washington Advisory Group, where he advises on policy issues related to secondary education and research in STEM fields to companies, universities, governments, and non-profit organizations.