Leo Hollberg earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Stanford University in 1976 and a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado, Boulder in 1984. He stayed at Colorado, specifically at JILA, for postdoctoral work. He also held a postdoctoral position at AT&T Bell Labs until 1985. In 1988, he returned to the University of Colorado, where he is still a lecturer. Also in 1985, he became a staff scientist at NIST, in the time and frequency division. He held this appointment until 2008. In 2011, he became a research professor at Stanford University.

Hollberg is a Fellow of OSA and APS. Other recognitions include the Gold Medal and Silver Medal Awards from the Department of Commerce, the I.I. Rabi Award from IEEE-UFFC, the William F. Meggers Award from OSA, and the Rank Prize for Optoelectronics.