Daniel Paulista was born in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, and started his career at hometown club Comercial. In 2003, he moved to Santos, being the immediate backup of Paulo Almeida as the club finished second in the league.
In 2004, Daniel Paulista was deemed suplus to requirements by new manager Vanderlei Luxemburgo, and was released on 6 July of that year. He would play for Juventude, Sertãozinho and São Caetano in the following two years, only impressing with the latter.
In September 2008, after winning the year's Copa do Brasil, Daniel Paulista moved abroad for the first time of his career, after agreeing to a four-year deal with Romanian Liga I club FC Rapid București for a € 800,000 fee. The following January, however, he left the club after appearing rarely, and subsequently returned to former club Sport.
Daniel Paulista left the Leão in January 2012, after struggling with several injuries. He subsequently represented Botafogo-SP, Comercial, Audax and ABC, retiring with the latter in 2014 at the age of 32.
In July 2014 Daniel Paulista returned to Sport, as Eduardo Baptista's assistant. On 17 September of the following year, as Baptista left for Fluminense, he was named interim manager until the arrival of Paulo Roberto Falcão.
On 13 October 2016, Daniel was appointed as first team manager until the end of the year, replacing Oswaldo de Oliveira.
