[4] Previously, Shah was a member of the Obama presidential transition team and was the head of Global Development Initiatives, a philanthropic arm of Google.org.

[14] After Joe Biden secured the nomination in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Shah served on the Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force.

[15] In February 2022, Shah was sworn in as Chief Commissioner of the newly created President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (PACAANHPI).

[5] In 2001, with her siblings Roopal and Anand, Shah founded the nonprofit Indicorps, which, akin to the Peace Corps, is a service fellowship for young Indians in the diaspora to perform grassroots and community volunteer work in India.

[19][20][21] From 2003–2004, she worked at the Center for American Progress as an associate director, advising current and former congressional and government executives on a wide variety of issues including trade, outsourcing and post-conflict reconstruction.

[22] In 2004, Shah joined Goldman Sachs as a vice president, where she worked on green initiatives, which included informing clients and bankers on alternative energy opportunities and advising them on how to implement environmental, social and governance criteria for all investments.