Kocienski has made contributions to the design and development of new organometallic reagents in synthesis, and the applications of synthetic methods to complex natural products. Early work with Basil Lythgoe on the scope and stereochemistry of the Julia olefination with alpha-metallated sulphone reagents emphasised the value of this method in organic chemistry. His major contribution has been to research the synthesis and chemistry of novel metallated (lithium, copper and nickel) enol ethers, and to develop the uses of these intermediates in the synthesis of oxacyclic and geometrically defined alkene units in natural products of biological significance. Kocienski has synthesised the insecticide milbemycin beta 3, the potassium channel blocker talaromycin B, the hypotensive agent lacrimin, and the antihypertensive agent zoapatanol. His total synthesis of the insect toxin pederin, and his synthetic work toward the immunosuppressant FK 506, have made him regarded as one of the leading organic chemists in the field.