Since 2016, he has been Vice-Principal for Humanities and Social Sciences at Queen Mary University of London, where he holds a professorship.
Hilton completed his doctorate of philosophy (PhD) at Lancaster University in 1996 for a thesis entitled Constructing tobacco: perspectives on consumer culture in Britain, 1850–1950.
He moved to Queen Mary University of London in 2016 as professor in the school of history and Vice-Principal for Humanities and Social Sciences.
As of 2017, he is co-editor of the journal Past & Present, and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
In 2002, he won the Philip Leverhulme Prize for Modern History.