Heidi Shyu was educated at the University of New Brunswick (B.Sc. in Mathematics); the University of Toronto (M.Sc. in Mathematics); and the University of California, Los Angeles (M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering). She began her career as an engineer at Hughes Aircraft. She later moved on to Grumman and Litton Industries. She was a member of the United States Air Force Scientific Advisory Board from 2000 to 2010, serving as its vice-chairman 2003 to 2005 and as its chairman 2005 to 2008.