In 2008 Litchinitser was made an Assistant Professor of Optics at the State University of New York, and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2011. She moved to Duke University in 2018. Her research focuses on metamaterials and topological photonics. Metamaterials are artificial structures that manipulate waves using a carefully controlled nanostructure as opposed to chemistry. She has used metamaterials to create a hyperlens; that is, a lens that escapes the diffraction limit by converting evanescent waves into propagating waves. To create the lens Litchinitser made use of gold and poly(methyl methacrylate) arranged in Slinky -like formation, which can overcome the diffraction limit to visible light. It is hoped that such lens could be used to improve the resolution of endoscopes, allowing early detection of certain cancers.