He was Dean of the School of Engineering at MIT from 2007 to 2010 before being appointed as Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) by Barack Obama, where he served from 2010 to 2013.

[2] Suresh was awarded the National Medal of Science, the highest honor accorded to a US scientist, by President Biden in a ceremony at the White House on 24 October 2023.

Suresh returned to Brown University in September 2023 as Professor at Large to deliver periodic public lectures and to continue his research collaborations.

[11] As Dean of Engineering, he launched or oversaw a number of MIT's major international programs in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas.

In June 2010, Suresh was nominated by U.S. President Barack Obama to be the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF)[12] and was unanimously confirmed by the US Senate in September 2010.

[17] The Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program which Suresh designed and created in 2012 while serving as NSF Director is now regarded as one of the most impactful initiatives for translating scientific discoveries into commercial practice.

According to the NSF biennial report released in June 2023, I-Corps has led to the creation of about 1,700 start-ups raising more than $4 billion in external funding in the US since 2012.

[19] In response to an invitation from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Suresh established and chaired a Global Summit on Scientific Merit Review at NSF in May 2012.

[20] Summit participants endorsed a Statement of Principles of Scientific Merit Review to serve as a basis for potential multilateral collaborations in the future,[21] and launched a virtual entity, the Global Research Council (GRC), to co-ordinate practices and enhance international scientific collaboration between developed and developing countries.

He has shown himself to be a consummate scientist and engineer – beholden to evidence and committed to upholding the highest scientific standards.

He has also done his part to make sure the American people benefit from advances in technology, and opened up more opportunities for women, minorities, and other underrepresented groups.

[27] He was quoted as saying “If the United States is to remain a leader in discovery and innovation, we must engage the enormous talent pool represented by our young women.”[28] During Suresh's tenure, CMU settled a major patent infringement lawsuit against Marvell Technology Group.

Suresh announced that the majority of the funds received by the university, expected to be about $250 million, would be dedicated to programs that "enhance the student experience".

"[36] Suresh recounted his own journey as an immigrant to the United States writing, "I first came to the US at age 21 with a partially filled suitcase, less than $100 in cash, and a one-way airplane ticket purchased with a loan.

In 2014 he commented to the Pittsburgh Gazette that "Diversity in the broadest sense — intellectual, cultural, ethnic, racial or national origin — intrinsically enhances artistic and technical innovation".

[38] As president of Singapore's NTU, he oversaw the establishment of major new Corporate and Joint Laboratories with leading industry partners.

[41] [42] As part of its NTU 2025 Strategic Plan, he led efforts in creating a sustainability manifesto with NTU becoming the first academic entity in the world to issue sustainability-linked public bonds along with the commitment to achieve 100% Green Mark Platinum certification for all eligible buildings on its 500-acre (200-hectare) main campus, and carbon neutrality by 2035.