[1] Babinec spent the first twenty years of her career at Dow Chemical Company, where she worked as a senior electrochemist.

[citation needed] She became frustrated by Dow's lack of investment in new technologies, and moved to A123, a company who were pursuing new battery materials.

[1] During her six years at ARPA-E, Babinec invested $120 million into battery companies, including Natron Energy, Sila Nanotechnologies and Ion Storage Systems.

[4][5] She looks to optimize energy storage capabilities by integrating grid design with industry needs.

[4] To better understand battery materials, she developed rapid life cycle evaluations and pioneered the use of artificial intelligence.