Kauzlarich received a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from the College of William & Mary in 1980. Although originally planning to become a high school chemistry teacher, her collegiate mentors encouraged her to pursue graduate studies in chemistry. She did her graduate studies with Bruce A. Averill at Michigan State University, receiving a chemistry PhD in 1985. During her graduate studies, Kauzlarich primarily worked on the synthesis, development and study of low-dimensional conducting materials derived from the layered material FeOCl. Her characterization methods of these new materials included x-ray absorption spectroscopy and neutron diffraction. From 1985 to 1987, Kauzlarich was a postdoctoral fellow with John Corbett at Iowa State University where she explored the synthesis and bonding characteristics of novel extended condensed metal chain compounds built on [R6IZ] (R=Ln, Y, Sc; Z=B,C,N, C) clusters.
Kauzlarich joined the department of Chemistry at the University of California, Davis in 1987. She was promoted to associate professor in 1992, promoted to full professor in 1996, and in 2014, distinguished professor. She was the Maria Goeppert Mayer Distinguished Scholar at Argonne National Laboratory from 1997 to 1998,  Faculty Assistant to the Dean of Mathematical and Physical Sciences from 2010 to 2013, and chair of the chemistry department from 2013 to 2016.
Kauzlarich served as an associate editor for the journal Chemistry of Materials from 2006 to 2021 and is a deputy editor for Science Advances (2022-). She has been a member of the editorial advisory board for the handbook Physics and Chemistry of the Rare Earths since 2002. She was an associate editor for the Journal of Solid State Chemistry from 2000 to 2005, and as a member of the advisory review board of the Research Corporation for Science Advancement from 2004 to 2010. Kauzlarich is the editor of the book Chemistry, structure, and bonding of Zintl phases and ions.
Kauzlarich is an advocate for diversity in the chemistry community and is well known for her personal commitment to mentorship. Throughout her career she has built and continues to support a pipeline of women and underrepresented students in the field of chemistry from high school through graduate study. During her career, Kauzlarichs mentorship strategies have expanded to help support a culture shift in her community through discussions, workshops, and development of new initiatives. One of her initiatives has been the development of the American Chemical Society Summer Educational Experience for the Economically Disadvantaged Program (SEED) program which she established at UC Davis in 1988. For her mentorship of students, Kauzlarich was recognized by Barack Obama with the 2009 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring. At UC Davis, she serves as committee member for the Center for the Advancement of Multicultural Perspectives on Science, part of the UC Davis "ADVANCE" initiative.  She is also an active member of the steering committees at UC Davis including the Womens Research and Resource Center and Women in Science and Engineering.