Chandra is a professor in the Department of Bioresource Engineering at McGill University and a visiting researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He previously served as dean of the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and as director of the Brace Centre for Water Resources Management at McGill University. Chandra has served in governance positions in the CGIAR and has chaired the board of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics. He previously served on the boards of agri-food and agro-environmental research and development organizations in Quebec.