Smith attended the University of Saskatchewan, where he received a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 1947, and subsequently earned a master's in that field from Purdue University.[3]
Smith began his career at the National Research Council, where he spent either five[3] or seven[4][5] years. In 1957, he joined Pratt and Whitney Canada[4] as an Analytical Engineer.[5] In 1958[5] or 1959,[3] he was a Chief Project Engineer; in 1962 he was promoted to Engineering Manager;[1] in 1966 he was vice-president of Engineering;[1] and in 1970[1] or 1973[4] he was vice-president of Operations.
In 1978, he became Executive Vice President,[1] and in March 1980, was appointed President[6] and CEO,[3] being further selected as Chairman of the Board in 1984.[1] In 1987, he retired, but retained his seat on the board until 1994.[7]
In addition to being an aviation engineer, Smith was himself a pilot (having earned his license while at Purdue),[1] with a flight time of over 5300 hours in both powered and unpowered aircraft;[7] as well, three of his four children became commercial airline pilots.[4]
