Steele served as a law clerk to the Wayne County Prosecuting Attorney's Office in Detroit from 1972 to 1974.
Steele served as an assistant United States attorney in the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Michigan from 1980 to 1981.
He relocated to Florida and was assistant United States attorney in the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida from 1981 to 1988.
He served as a United States magistrate judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida from 1991 to 2000 and was an adjunct professor at Florida Coastal School of Law from 1999 to 2000.
President Bill Clinton nominated Steele to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida on June 6, 2000, to a new seat created by 113 Stat.