Meint Smit joined Delft University of Technology, Netherlands, in 1976, after earning an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering in 1974. He later switched his focus to optical communications and integrated optics. He earned his PhD in 1991 from Delft University of Technology. In 2002, he moved his group to the Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands, where he is today. He leads the Photonic Integration group at the COBRA Research Institute.

He has received a number of awards, including the 1997 IEEE/LEOS Engineering Technical Achievement Award for his invention of the Arrayed Waveguide Grating. He has also received the 2009 MOC Award and the 2016 Rank Prize.