Archie Panjabi first appeared in the "Bideshi" episode of the television series ‘Siren Spirits’ in 1994. In 1999, she made her film debut in the British comedy-drama ‘East Is East,’ directed by Damien O'Donnell. The film opened to positive reception and was a box office success. She starred as "Pinky" Kaur Bhamra in the 2002 romantic comedy sports film ‘Bend It Like Beckham,’ directed by Gurinder Chadha. The film saw positive reviews upon release and was a massive box office success, grossing over $104.6 million on a budget of $6 million. In 2004, she became a part of the British stop-motion animated television series ‘Postman Pat,’ created by John Cunliffe. She played the role of ‘Meera Bains’ and remained a part of the series until 2006.
Panjabi next appeared in television series like ‘Life on Mars’ (2006-2007), ‘Silent Witness’ (2007), and ‘Personal Affairs’ (2009). In 2009, she joined the cast of the American legal and political drama television series ‘The Good Wife.’ Her performance as ‘Kalinda Sharma’ in the series earned her a ‘Primetime Emmy Award’ and 2 ‘NAACP Image Awards.’ Panjabi remained a part of the show until 2015. In 2013, she was seen playing the role of ‘Professor Reed Smith’ in the crime drama television series ‘The Fall.’ She left the show in 2014 and continued to appear in television series like ‘The Widower’ (2014), ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ (2015), ‘Shetland’ (2016), and ‘Power Monkeys’ (2016). In 2016, she starred as ‘Nas Kamal’ in the crime drama television series ‘Blindspot’ created by Martin Gero. She remained a part of the series until 2018. However, she made a guest appearance on the show in 2020.
In 2019, she joined the main cast of the suspense drama television series ‘Departure,’ where she plays the role of ‘Kendra Malley.’ In 2021, the series was renewed for a third season. In the 2021 animated series ‘Star Wars: The Bad Batch’ Archie Panjabi was seen in a voice role in the ‘’Aftermath’’ episode.