Dougald O’Reilly was granted an M.A. and PhD in Archaeology by the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. His researched involved the exploration of the development of political complexity in Bronze and Iron Age Thailand. He lived in Cambodia from 1999, working as a UNESCO lecturer at the Royal University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh. From 2006 -2008 he lectured at the University of Sydney, Australia, was a visiting lecturer at Yale University in 2008-09 and is currently employed with the Australian National University.  

In response to the looting of archaeological sites in Cambodia, a non-governmental organization called Heritage Watch (www.heritagewatchinternational.org) was founded by O'Reilly in an effort to combat the loss of heritage in Cambodia.  Heritage Watch established a nationwide education campaign highlighting the importance of heritage and continues to work in heritage preservation.

O'Reilly has worked extensively in the archaeology of Southeast Asia. Recent research has been focussed in Cambodia where he oversees a multi-disciplinary project examining ancient mobility, health and social organization of Iron Age settlements. He has also led research examining the rise of the state in the region with excavations undertaken in both Cambodia and Thailand, the core and periphery of empire.

His current research focusses on the enigmatic sites of the 'Plain of the Jars' in Central Laos. This is a collaborative project with Lao government archaeologists aimed at shedding more light on the origin and purpose of the megalithic jar sites.

Future projects will involve collaborating with researchers in Assam, NE India where similar jars are found.

In 2015 O'Reilly was awarded the ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences Award for Programs that Enhance Learning and the Vice Chancellor's Award for Public Policy and Outreach. He was nominated in 2016 for a Vice Chancellor's Award for Programs that Enhance Learning.