Aderin has worked on many projects in private industry, academia, and government. From 1996 to 1999 she worked at the
Defence Evaluation and Research Agency, a branch of the
Ministry of Defence. Initially, she was a systems scientist on aircraft missile warning systems; from 1997 to 1999, she was a project manager developing hand-held instruments to detect
landmines. In 1999, Aderin returned to
Imperial College on a fellowship from the
Science and Technology Facilities Council to work with the group developing a high-resolution
spectrograph for the
Gemini telescope in
Chile. The high spectral resolution of the instrument allowed studies of stellar populations, interstellar medium, and some physical phenomena in stars with small masses. She worked on and managed the observation instruments for the
Aeolus satellite, which measured wind speeds to help the investigation of climate change. She is a pioneering figure in communicating science to the public, specifically school children. Her company, Science Innovation Ltd, engages children and adults through its "Tours of the Universe" a programme that explains about the science of space. Aderin is committed to inspiring new generations of astronauts, engineers and scientists. She has spoken to approximately 25,000 children, many from inner-city schools, explaining how and why she became a scientist, challenging
perceptions about careers, class, and gender. She helps encourage scientific endeavours of young people by being a judge at the National Science + Engineering Competition. The finals of this competition are held at The Big Bang Fair in March each year, and reward young people who have achieved excellence in a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics project. Aderin was the scientific consultant for the 2009 mini-series
Paradox, and also appeared on
Doctor Who Confidential. In February 2011, she presented
Do We Really Need the Moon? on
BBC Two. She presented
In Orbit: How Satellites Rule Our World on BBC Two on 26 March 2012. As well as presenting
The Sky at Night with
Chris Lintott, Aderin has presented
Stargazing on
CBeebies with Chris Jarvis, and
Out of This World on
CBBC with her daughter Lauren. She has also appeared on
Would I Lie to You?, Dara O Briain's
Go 8 Bit, ''
Richard Osman's House of Games, and QI. She held the Dictionary Corner of the 136th episode of the 2023 series of Countdown''. Since 2006, Aderin has served as a research fellow at
UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies, supported by a Science in Society fellowship 2010–13 funded by
Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). She previously held two other fellowships related to science communication, including science and society fellowships 2006–08
Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC) and 2008–10 (STFC). The
Daily Mail withdrew its claim within days, acknowledging that the women were chosen because they are highly qualified in their fields. In 2020–21 she served as a commissioner on the UK Government's
Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities (CRED). The commission's controversial report concluded that the "claim the country is still institutionally racist is not borne out by the evidence", but experts complained that the report misrepresented evidence, and that recommendations from business leaders were ignored. After the report was published, Aderin stated that it "was not denying institutional racism existed but said the commission had not discovered evidence of it in the areas it had looked". Since December 2021, Aderin has been a question-setter for the
Channel 4 game show
I Literally Just Told You. In 2025, she presented the
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures discussing "is there life beyond earth?". The lectures were broadcast on the BBC. ==Honours and awards==