Zander graduated from Cologne University in 1990 and joined Toyota. After a period working in Touring Cars he returned to Toyota and contributed to their Formula One project before moving to the BAR Formula One team in 2003, building expertise across multiple technical disciplines in the paddock.
In September 2005 Zander was recruited by Williams to replace Chief Designer Gavin Fisher, who had been dismissed following the team's poor on-track performances. At Williams he worked alongside Chief Aerodynamicist Loïc Bigois under the supervision of Technical Director Sam Michael. The appointment was intended to reinvigorate the team's design direction, but Zander resigned from Williams in March 2006 citing personal reasons.
Immediately after leaving Williams, Zander joined BMW Sauber as Chief Designer, reporting to Technical Director Willy Rampf. The role placed him at a newly factory-backed team with significant resources and ambition during a competitive period in Formula One.
In July 2007 it was announced that Zander had agreed to join Honda Racing F1. He was immediately suspended following his agreement to join and then completed the move to Honda. When Honda withdrew from Formula One after the 2008 season and the team was purchased by Ross Brawn in March 2009 — becoming Brawn GP — Zander continued in his role with the new organisation. Brawn GP's 2009 season was extraordinary: the team won both the Drivers' and Constructors' World Championships with Jenson Button. Zander departed Brawn GP on 19 June 2009. Following his departure he established his own automotive engineering firm, JZ Engineering.
In October 2011 Zander entered discussions with the HRT Formula One team to become its Technical Director, but the deal did not materialise. In 2015 he joined Audi Sport as Head of Technology, working with the sportscar programme in the FIA World Endurance Championship. When Audi withdrew from the WEC at the end of 2016, Zander's tenure with the manufacturer's motorsport division came to a close.
Following Audi's WEC withdrawal, Zander returned to Sauber as Technical Director for the 2017 Formula One season — revisiting the Swiss team where he had served as Chief Designer a decade earlier. The arrangement lasted 18 months; on 2 May 2018 Sauber announced his departure from the team.
Zander's career illustrates the peripatetic nature of technical leadership in Formula One, where designers and engineers move frequently between teams at different stages of their development cycles. His time at Brawn GP in 2009, however brief, coincided with one of the most unexpected championship victories in the sport's modern era, and his passage through Williams, BMW Sauber, Honda, Audi Sport, and two spells at Sauber reflects a broad technical curriculum across both Formula One and endurance racing.