Snyder started out as both director and cinematographer of music videos (for Morrissey) and commercials (Compuware, Audi, Budweiser, Jeep, Magnum). He has also portrayed sports icons such as Michael Jordan, Martina Navratilova, Troy Aikman and Antonio Margarito for clients Nike, Reebok and Gatorade and he completed a spot for Titleist and the PGA Tour featuring David Duval, Dan Marino and David Robinson, among others.

Snyder's work has garnered numerous awards including three Clios. He received a Gold Lion Award at Cannes for his Jeep “Frisbee” spot. His spot "Russian Generals", filmed on location in England, attracted the attention of the London advertising community, from which he received an award. Most recently, Snyder completed the 2003 Subaru campaign featuring seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong. Both of his films have been parodied by South Park (300 in the episode D-Yikes!, and Dawn of the Dead in the consecutive episode Night of the Living Homeless).

Main article: Dawn of the Dead (2004 film)

Tired of having to travel around the world for his work, Snyder made the transition to feature films with the 2004 film Dawn of the Dead, which was a re-imagining of George Romero's famous zombie film Dawn of the Dead. Despite mixed response from both critics and fans of the original film, it was commercially successful and became one of the top-grossing zombie films of all time.

Main article: 300 (film)

His next film was an adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel 300 and was released in March 2007. Reviews of the film were mixed with some critics praising its action and visual style and others deriding it. According to the New York Times, critics were divided on the merits of Mr. Snyder’s adaptation of Frank Miller and Lynn Varley’s graphic novel about the Spartans’ stand against the Persians at Thermopylae, which A.O. Scott’s review described as “about as violent as Apocalypto and twice as stupid.” (An admiring Richard Roeper, of the Chicago Sun-Times, called it “gorgeous to behold.”) The film has generated controversy with some accusing it of fascism, especially in Europe. Its portrayal of Persians angered Iranians, with official condemnation from the government of Iran. The film grossed more than $70 million in its opening weekend in the US (March 9-11, 2007), and set an all-time record for a film released in the month of March. It also became the third largest opening for a film with an "R" rating behind only The Passion of the Christ ($83.8 million) and The Matrix Reloaded ($91.8 million).

Main article: Watchmen (film)

Snyder is following 300 up with the big screen adaptation of Alan Moore's graphic novel Watchmen for Warner Bros. Production is set to begin this summer and is slated for a 2008 release.

Main article: Army Of The Dead (film)

Zack Snyder's sequel to the critically acclaimed Dawn Of The Dead remake or "re imagining", takes place in a quarantined Las Vegas where a man puts his life on the line to save his daughter from the ravenous undead cannibals.