[1] From 1988 to 1991, Cingolani was a staff member of the Max Planck Institute in Stuttgart, Germany, under the direction of Nobel laureate Klaus von Klitzing.

Cingolani initially joined Leonardo in 2019, becoming chief technology and innovation officer and spearheading cyber and AI programs, leaving in 2021.

[5] From 2019 until 2021, Cingolani was Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at Leonardo S.p.A.; before this, he was scientific director at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia in Genoa from 2005 to 2019.

[7] Italian climate activists have expressed concern over Cingolani's calls for a slower transition and his statements supporting increased use of natural gas.

[8][9] Together with Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, Cingolani appointed senior diplomat Alessandro Modiano as Italy's first-ever special envoy for climate change in January 2022.