FC Köln, where he progressed to the reserve team, before leaving the club in 1999, following coach Colin Bell to Dynamo Dresden of the Regionalliga Nordost.
The 2003–04 season was a successful one for the club, as they missed promotion by just one point, and reached the DFB-Pokal final, losing 3–2 against Werder Bremen.
Paulus, who played the full 90 minutes of the final, was considered as part of a new, exciting generation of Alemannia players, along with team-mates Dennis Brinkmann and Emmanuel Krontiris.
Paulus played in five matches as the club reached the first knockout round, including ties against Lille, AEK, and Aachen's eventual conquerors AZ.
At the end of the 2011–12 season, Paulus left Chemie to sign for lower league side VfL Pirna-Copitz.