He studied film at the Florida State University College of Motion Picture Arts, graduating in 2002.
After moving to Hollywood, his first job as an editor was on the reality television show The Biggest Loser—a job that he quit when another FSU alumnus, writer-director Barry Jenkins, made his 2008 film Medicine for Melancholy, which Sanders moved to San Francisco to edit.
[1] Following the release of Medicine for Melancholy and Humpday, Sanders was named one of Filmmaker Magazine's "25 New Faces in Independent Film" in 2009.
[3] In 2010, he had a minor acting role in Tiny Furniture; he was friends with Lena Dunham, the film's writer, director and lead actress.
[2] After Short Term 12, he edited Laggies, his fourth collaboration with Lynn Shelton, and the first season of Togetherness, an HBO series created by Mark and Jay Duplass.