Maithreyi has served as a senior editor at the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) in Mumbai. She started her career as a writer and editor for Teacher Plus, which was published by Orient Longman in Hyderabad. Subsequently, she worked as a journalist with Deccan Herald and The Week in Bangalore. She was a researcher at the Centre for Studies in Ethics and Rights in Mumbai, where she authored a monograph on bioethics in India. As a freelance editor, she has worked on several books published by publishers such as Juggernaut, Penguin, Rupa and Orient Blackswan.