Marres studied Sociology and Philosophy of Science and Technology at the University of Amsterdam, and did her doctoral research at that same university, and at the Ecole des Mines (Paris). Her PhD Thesis, No Issue, No Public (2005) outlines an issue-oriented concept of public participation in technological societies, drawing on American pragmatism and Actor-Network Theory. Her first book, Material Participation : Technology, the Environment and Everyday Publics (2012/2015) builds on field research in environmental show-homes, and develops an analysis of material forms of engagement. Her latest book, Digital Sociology (Polity, 2017) outlines a critical and creative approach to researching digital societies. She is currently setting up new research on societal testing of intelligent technologies.
Before joining the University of Warwick in September 2015, Marres was Senior Lecturer and Director of the Centre for Invention and Social Process at Goldsmtihs (University of London). She was a Fellow in Science & Technology Studies at the University of Oxford (2009-2011), and a Marie Curie Fellow in Sociology at Goldsmiths (2007-2009). In 2014, she was a Visiting Fellow at the Berlin Social Science Centre.