Prior to her appointment at UWA, Ambika’s career was a diverse combination of consultancy and training on international forensic and humanitarian platforms. Since graduating Ambika has worked as an archaeologist, anthropologist and forensic consultant, primarily in locating and excavating clandestine graves and analysing human remains for identification and repatriation. She has undertaken this work in Australia, Latin America, the Middle East, the Balkans, and Europe.

Ambika Flavel currently holds the position of Associate Lecturer in the Centre for Forensic Anthropology within the School of Social Sceinces; her main role is facilitating research directed towards the development of population specific forensic standards for Western Australian individuals; the methodology currently employed is largely based on the analysis of multislice computed tomography (MSCT) scans that are acquired from various WA hospitals. Concurrently, Ambika has been directly involved in research into geophysical methods (Ground Penetrating Radar and Magnetometry) of locating buried objects and human remains. Ambika directs the Camposanto Bioanthropology Project involving excavation of a plague era cemetery in Venice, running this as a fieldschool for postgraduate students. She is also assistant director of the BAKSAU-K project which focuses on the pre-Islamic human burials from the Al Ula region of Saudi Arabia, including the Nabatean site of Hegra.