[1] Smith attended St Ninian's High School, Giffnock[2] and was involved with the youth system at Hamilton Academical, the club his family supported,[3][4] from the age of 9.

[5] After signing a professional contract in summer 2016,[3] he appeared for the club's age-restricted teams in three editions of the Scottish Challenge Cup[6] and in the 2018–19 UEFA Youth League,[6][7][8] before making his debut for the Accies senior team on 31 October 2018, appearing from the bench for the last ten minutes of a 3–0 away defeat to Aberdeen in the 2018–19 Scottish Premiership.

[9] Smith made his first league start for the club on 10 August 2019 against Kilmarnock at New Douglas Park; he scored the opening goal and created the second in a 2–0 victory, receiving praise for his performance.

[13] The club were relegated from the Scottish Championship in 2023, but Smith had an important role as they returned via the promotion play-offs a year later, scoring in wins over Alloa Athletic and Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

[15] Smith has represented Scotland at under-17 youth level;[16] he sat four of his Higher school exams while on international duty at the 2017 UEFA European Under-17 Championship in Croatia.