Khobragade qualified to become an officer of the Indian Administrative Service of the 1984 batch. From 1 August 1986 to 1 December 1993 he served in the departments of Land Revenue Management and Rural Development.[3] After that, he was Collector and District Magistrate of Mumbai Suburban District up to 1 July 1996.[6] He subsequently worked in various departments such as Planning and Program Implementation, Environment and Forests, Social Justice and Empowerment,[7] and Rural Development.[3] From 1 October 1998 to 18 October 2000 he was Managing Director of Maharashtra Agricultural and Food Processing Corporation (MAFCO).It was he who closed MAFCO .[citation needed]Khobragade was CEO of Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority[8] from 18 October 2000 until he was transferred out of this position on 1 August 2002.[citation needed]From 1 August 2002[9] to 16 July 2004, he was Commissioner of Food and Drug Administration, Maharashtra State.[citation needed] On 16 July 2004, he returned to Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority as its Vice President and CEO.[10] On 25 May 2005 he was assigned position as Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation.[citation needed]In 2006, he served as Principal Secretary, Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development, Government of Maharashtra.[11] From 28 June 2006[12] to 2 June 2010 he was General Manager of Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST).[13][14] From 2 June 2010 to 31 May 2011 he served as Principal Secretary, Tribal Welfare Department.[15]