In 1934, she was transferred to the British Thomson-Houston Company to act as liaison between the Sales and Engineering Departments of their Manchester and Rugby branches, owing to her experience with the design of R-type motors.

[1] In 1937, Dorothy served as an opposition member at a meeting of the Metropolitan-Vickers Debating Society, arguing against the motion "That the Introduction of Female Apprentices to these works is to be deplored."

She was joined in her opposition by Dorothy Garfitt, Anne Gillespie Shaw, and Gertrude Entwisle, fellow Metropolitan-Vickers employees and members of the Women's Engineering Society.

[9] Dorothy Smith retired from the company after forty-three years on 7 April 1959, her colleagues remarking that "Her life and career can well be taken as an excellent example for any young lady who may otherwise think that success in the technical side of heavy engineering is something reserved for the male sex.

The funeral service was held on 27 February 1975 at St Michael and All Angels Church, Claverdon, Warwickshire, with cremation following at Oakley Wood Crematorium, near Leamington Spa.