He joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in June 1984. After graduating in 1989, he stayed at Tongji University and worked successively as associate professor, associate director, researcher, and party secretary of the School of Science. He was appointed deputy party secretary of Tongji University in July 2002, concurrently serving as vice president since December 2004. He was deputy head of Organization Department of Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Chinese Communist Party in November 2008, and held that office until November 2011. In November 2011, he was promoted to become party secretary of Tongji University, a position at vice-ministerial level.
On November 13, 2022, Zhou was appointed as the Communist Party Secretary of Fujian.[4] At the time of his appointment, he was the youngest party secretary of the Chinese Communist Party's provincial party committees, and the first party secretary to be born in or after 1965.