Before joining the Princeton faculty, he served as the technology law and policy advisor to United States Senator Kamala Harris and as the Chief Technologist of the Federal Communications Commission Enforcement Bureau. Professor Mayer's research centers on the intersection of technology and law, with emphasis on national security, criminal procedure, and consumer privacy. He is both a computer scientist and a lawyer, and he holds a Ph.D. in computer science from Stanford University and a J.D. from Stanford Law School.