Prinz was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Maryland from 1967 to 1971. In 1971, she joined the Naval Research Laboratory as a research physicist. Her title at retirement in 2000 was Head of the Solar Radiation Section, Solar Physics Branch, Space Science Division of the Naval Research Laboratory. Much of her work involved studies of solar irradiance. She was a volunteer for the Navy Community Outreach Program, speaking to students and community groups about the laboratory's work. She was a fellow of the Washington Academy of Science, and vice president of the National Capital Section of the Optical Society of America.