O'Malley is a 1996 graduate of Purdue University, where she majored in mechanical engineering.[6][3] She went to Vanderbilt University for graduate study, earning a master's degree in 1999 and completing her Ph.D. in 2001.[1][6]
She has been on the Rice University faculty since 2001,[1][6] and holds courtesy appointments in electrical and computer engineering and computer science at Rice, and in physical medicine and rehabilitation at the Baylor College of Medicine and University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Before being named the Thomas Michael Panos Family Professor, she was Stanley C. Moore Professor of Mechanical Engineering.[7]
In 2019, Purdue University gave her their Outstanding Mechanical Engineer Award.[3] In 2020 she was named the ASME Dynamic Systems and Controls Division Nyquist Lecturer.[10]