Nahal is a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State, specializing in political affairs. She served as vice consul in Casablanca, Morocco; as staff assistant to the U.S. Ambassador in Baghdad, Iraq; as a Watch Officer in the State Department Operations Center; and as the NATO Desk Officer in Washington, DC. She is currently preparing for her next assignment as the chief of the political unit at the U.S. embassy in Budapest, Hungary.

Prior to joining the State Department, Nahal was practiced law as an attorney with Davis Polk and Wardwell in New York City. She holds bachelors and law degrees from Harvard University, where she was also a teaching fellow in the Department of Government. Nahal has published numerous articles on international and comparative law.