Smith+Nephew — Hull

Smith+Nephew is one of the few London-listed companies that can trace its origins to Hull. Thomas James Smith opened a dispensing chemist’s business in the city in 1856, and the firm that grew from it is now a global medical technology company with around 18,000 employees. The group is headquartered in Watford, but the Advanced Wound Management business, one of Smith+Nephew’s three main divisions, has kept its research and manufacturing base in Hull for well over a century. It is a rare example of life sciences work in the Humber, in contrast to the heavier industry in our engineering and manufacturing sector guide.

What Smith+Nephew does

The company works in three areas: orthopaedics (hip and knee replacements, trauma products), sports medicine and ENT (equipment for minimally invasive surgery), and advanced wound management (dressings and devices for hard-to-heal wounds such as ulcers, burns and surgical wounds). Its customers include the NHS, and it is a regulated medical device manufacturer, which shapes everything from laboratory practice to production-line documentation.

The Hull site

The Hull operation, off Hessle Road in the west of the city, is the R&D and manufacturing home of Advanced Wound Management. Products developed there include PICO, which the company describes as the world’s first single-use negative pressure wound therapy system, and the ALLEVYN Life range of foam dressings. When the new-facility plans were announced in 2022, local press reported around 800 people working at Hessle Road.

The site also anchors a research relationship with the University of Hull. The two describe their collaboration as one of the world’s largest wound care research clusters, including a group of multi-disciplinary PhD studentships.

The move to Melton West

In June 2022 Smith+Nephew announced a new research, development and manufacturing facility for Advanced Wound Management at Melton West business park, about eight miles west of Hull off the A63, saying it could not find a large enough site within the city. The investment was initially put at more than $100m (around £80m), later reported at £94m, for a roughly 38,000 square metre building on a 23-acre plot. Planning permission was granted in 2023 and the company originally expected to open in 2024.

The timetable has slipped and the plan has changed. In October 2024 the company was reported to have revised its approach, citing higher costs, with the intention to retain some operations in Hull alongside the new Melton facility rather than move everything. Smith+Nephew has not published a detailed public account of which functions will sit where, or when Melton will be fully operational, so applicants should ask directly about location. Melton is covered on our East Riding of Yorkshire jobs page.

Typical roles

A combined R&D and manufacturing site for regulated medical devices employs a wide mix of people:

• Research and development scientists — chemistry, microbiology, toxicology, materials and biomedical science, typically degree or PhD level
• Product development and design engineers — turning research into manufacturable devices
• Regulatory affairs and quality assurance — a substantial function in medical devices
• Production operatives and technicians — controlled-environment manufacturing of dressings and devices, often on shifts
• Manufacturing, process and maintenance engineers, plus supply chain, planning and site support roles

As a broad indicative guide only, production roles in UK medical device manufacturing typically start in the mid-£20,000s, while graduate scientists and engineers often begin around £28,000–£35,000, with experienced R&D, regulatory and engineering specialists well above that. These are general sector ranges rather than Smith+Nephew figures.

Graduates, interns and apprenticeships

Smith+Nephew runs a global early careers programme: internships, rotational leadership development programmes for graduates in areas such as supply chain, manufacturing, IT, quality and regulatory affairs, and entry-level roles. The UK is listed among the countries where the graduate programmes run, though the company’s pages do not specify Hull, and it does not publish details of a Hull apprenticeship intake. If you are weighing a science apprenticeship against a degree, see apprenticeships vs university and our University of Hull degree apprenticeships page.

Working for Smith+Nephew in Hull

The strengths are clear: a long-established global employer, research-led work, a university link and a major new facility on the way. The uncertainty is how much of the operation will remain in Hull once Melton opens, on which the company has said little in public. This profile is based on Smith+Nephew’s statements and press reporting rather than employee accounts. Current vacancies are on the Smith+Nephew careers site; see also our Hull jobs and careers guide.