From 1991 to 2007, Roseneil was a lecturer of sociology, a University Research Fellow and, from 2000, a professor of Sociology and
Gender Studies at the
University of Leeds. She was the founding director of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Gender Studies (1997–2004). From 2005 to 2015, Roseneil was visiting professor II in Sociology at the Centre for Gender Research at the
University of Oslo. From 2007 to 2015, she was professor of Sociology and Social Theory in the Department of Psychosocial Studies at
Birkbeck University, and director of the
Birkbeck Institute for Social Research. Among her duties, she served as assistant dean (research) for the School of Social Science, History and Philosophy, and head of the Department of Psychosocial Studies. In 2014, she held a position at the Institute of Advanced Studies,
University of Western Australia as professor-at-large. Roseneil held the position of executive dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and professor of sociology at the
University of Essex from 2016 to 2018. During this period, more than 60 new academics were appointed whilst establishing a new Department of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies. Roseneil was appointed as dean of
University College London (UCL) faculty of Social and Historical Sciences in March 2018. Roseneil is based in the UCL Institute of Advanced Studies. In 2025, in response to a £585,000 fine imposed on the University of Sussex by the UK's
Office for Students (OfS) for failing to protect
freedom of speech, Roseneil released a statement arguing that the ruling was "a dangerous precedent and constitutes serious regulatory overreach in service of a politically motivated inquiry". The university announced that it would take legal action against the OfS through tribunal and seek a judicial review of the OfS's decision. == Research ==