Maureen Baginski began her cryptologic career as a Russian Language instructor in 1979. During her tenure, Ms. Baginski held various operational management positions, including a tour as a Senior Operations Officer in the National Security Operations Center and the Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) National Intelligence Officer for Russia.

Ms. Baginski held the position of Signals Intelligence Director during the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001. She directed the Extended SIGINT Enterprise during this time to acquire, produce, and disseminate foreign SIGINT to a wide variety of government and military customers. She interacted with the Executive Branch, members of the Intelligence Community, and worldwide SIGINT partners providing crucial information during a critical time. She left NSA to take a senior position at the Federal Bureau of Investigation.