Sujata Mehta joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1980 after earning a Master of Philosophy degree in Political Science. At different points in time she served as Under Secretary, and as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, and as Deputy Secretary / Director, and later as Joint Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office. She has also served in Indian Missions in Moscow, Dhaka and at the UN in New York. She served on deputation to the UN in Gaza and in New York. She has been India’s Ambassador to Spain and Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva before returning to the Ministry of External Affairs in July 2013 as Additional Secretary. She was appointed Secretary (Economic Relations) in February 2014 and as Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs in January 2016.
She was a Member of the Public Service Commission from February 2017 to March 2022.