Warren du Plessis received the B.Eng. (Electronic), M.Eng. (Electronic), and Ph.D. (Engineering) degrees from the University of Pretoria in 1998, 2003, and 2010, respectively, winning numerous academic awards including the prestigious Vice-Chancellor and Principal's Medal. He is an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems.

He spent two years as a lecturer at the University of Pretoria and then joined Grintek Antennas as a design engineer for almost four years, followed by six years at the CSIR in Pretoria, South Africa. He has been with the University of Pretoria since December 2012, where he holds the rank of Professor. His primary research field is electronic warfare (EW) with an emphasis on cross-eye jamming, but he also conducts research on other topics including single-sensor imaging and engineering education.