From 1941 to 1951, Vinograd worked for the Shell Development Company in Emeryville, California.  During this period, his wife Sherna gave birth to their two daughters, Julia and Deborah. In 1951 he became a senior research fellow at the California Institute of Technology, in Pasadena, California, where he remained for the rest of his career.  In 1956 he became a research associate, and in 1965 he was promoted to professor of chemistry and biology.  He pioneered the use of ultracentrifugation for the analysis of complex molecules, in particular DNA.