Riza is currently employed as a researcher at the Marine Science Institute in the University of the Philippines – Diliman. Their research group focused on the effects of trace metals and macronutrients on the growth and toxicity
of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs).

She previously worked as a Product Development and Regulatory Officer at a local Agrochemical company. She’s also a former researcher at the Marine Biogeochemistry Laboratory of the Research Center for Environmental Changes in Academia Sinica (Taipei, Taiwan) where they specialized in trace metal analysis in various marine samples. Moreover, she spent years doing research in various fields in Chemistry such as natural products, synthetic inorganic chemistry, Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), and development of methods to analyze heavy metal pollutants in the environment.

Riza was also a part of the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) as a Professional Fellow in Fall 2019 at the United Stated. It is a program established by the US government to strengthen the capabilities of young leaders in Southeast Asia by promoting cross-border cooperation in addressing regional and global challenges. She was selected to participate under the Sustainable Development and the Environment cohort where she focused on learning about sustainable agricultural practices in the US that could be adopted in the Philippines.

Since 2014, she has been working with Pueblo Science to promote its mission of uplifting science literacy in developing countries. She has served as a volunteer workshop facilitator in various locations in the Philippines (Rizal, South Cotabato, Iloilo, Nueva Ecija, Davao, Palawan, and Ilocos Norte) and Thailand (Phitsanulok).