Sinan Ülgen graduated from the University of Virginia in the United States in 1987 with degrees in Economics and Computer Engineering. He obtained his master's degree from the College of Europe in Bruges between 1989 and 1990. After joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1990, he worked for two years in the United Nations department in Ankara. From 1992 to 1996, he served at the Turkish Permanent Representation to the European Union in Brussels, where he contributed to determining Turkey's negotiation position regarding the Customs Union and actively participated in the negotiations.

At the end of 1996, Ülgen left the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is currently a Managing Partner at Istanbul Economic Consultancy and the President of the Center for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies (EDAM). He contributes to the work of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace as a Turkey expert. He co-authored the book titled "The European Transformation of Contemporary Turkey" with Kemal Derviş in 2004 and published "A Handbook for Negotiating with the EU" in 2005.

Ülgen has written articles published in international newspapers such as the International New York Times, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, European Voice, Huffington Post, Foreign Policy, and Le Figaro. He is a member of the Global Council of Europe at the World Economic Forum and serves on the Academic Board of the NATO Defense College in Rome. Additionally, he is a member of the group of ten international policy experts appointed by NATO Secretary General Rasmussen.