Zulhaidi graduated from Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) (B. Sc. Engineering), Ohio, USA, and later obtained his MSc. from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). He is currently pursuing his PhD at Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM). He is currently the Chairperson of the Society of Automotive Engineers Malaysia (SAEM) (2023-2025), after serving the society for more than a decade. SAE Malaysia promotes knowledge sharing and talent development concerning sustainable mobility. 

In his formal career, Zulhaidi has currently appointed as the Director of the Vehicle Safety and Biomechanics Research Centre (VSB) at the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) since 2020 and also the Technical Research Coordinator for ASEAN NCAP. He was also involved in the inception of the MIROS real-world crash investigation team, with more than 50 cases attended and involved in 5 national inquiry cases. His other projects involved surveys, evaluations, rating systems, policy-making, and systems-thinking research.