He is a founding member of the Jersey Devil design/build practice, and is currently a Professor in the University of Washington Department of Architecture, where he holds the Howard S. Wright Endowed Chair of the University of Washington College of Built Environments.
Badanes received his Bachelor of Arts from Wesleyan University in 1967, and his Master of Architecture (M.Arch.)
Seeking an alternative to conventional practice, Badanes and his partners Jim Adamson (who now also teaches a design/build course at the University of Miami) and John Ringel founded the Jersey Devil design/build firm in 1972.
He has been on the board of directors of the Yestermorrow Design/Build School in Waitsfield, Vermont, since 1983, and regularly teaches there in the summer.
In 1996, he accepted an appointment as a permanent member of the UW faculty and is the first to hold the Howard S. Wright Endowed Chair.