Judge Vaitheswaran was appointed to the Court of Appeals in 1999. She attended high school in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Judge Vaitheswaran received her undergraduate degree from Grinnell College. She attended the University of Iowa, earning a law degree and Master's in political science. Judge Vaitheswaran was a law clerk to Honorable Charles R. Wolle, Iowa Supreme Court, before Wolle's appointment to the federal district court. She worked as an attorney with Legal Services Corporation of Iowa and with the Attorney General's office before her appointment to the appellate court. Judge Vaitheswaran is a member of the Polk County and Iowa State Bar Associations, the Polk County Women Attorneys and Iowa Judges Associations, and the C. Edwin Moore Inn of Court.