After working in Italian business and commerce, Domenicali joined Ferrari in 1991, where he worked in company administration. He then moved to the administration of the racing team and the development of the team's Mugello test track. In 1995, he was appointed head of personnel in Ferrari's sporting department and was also involved with sponsorship liaison, before being promoted to Team Manager in December 1996. After a brief stint as Logistics Manager, he became the team's Sporting Director in 2002.

On November 12th 2007 Ferrari have announced Stefano Domenicali will take on the role of Director of the Ferrari Formula One team, a position previously held by Jean Todt.