After his PhD, Gowers was elected to a Junior Research Fellowship at Trinity College. From 1991 until his return to Cambridge in 1995 he was lecturer at University College London. He was elected to the Rouse Ball Professorship at Cambridge in 1998. During 2000–2 he was visiting professor at Princeton University. In May 2020 it was announced that he would be assuming the title chaire de combinatoire at the College de France beginning in October 2020, though he intends to continue to reside in Cambridge and maintain a part-time affiliation at the University, as well enjoy the privileges of his life Fellowship of Trinity College.