Her first job was at the Auckland Regional Authority, followed by positions in small architectural firms. In 1987, she opened her own practice, Lindley Naismith: Naismith Architects.[1]
Naismith shared an office with fellow architect Jane Aimer and in 2000 the pair joined their businesses and established Aimer Naismith Architects. Mike Dowsett joined the company shortly afterwards and it was renamed Scarlet Architects.[3][4][5] In 2018, Naismith and Aimer created the Scarlet Prize in Architecture, awarded annually to a high-achieving female student at the University of Auckland.[6][7]
Naismith has been judge for the New Zealand Home of the Year Award and several Te Kahui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects awards.[8] From 2019 to 2021, Naismith was co-chair of Architecture + Women NZ.[9] She is a fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Architects and has been chair of the institute's Auckland branch.[6]
In 2017, Naismith won the Munro Diversity Award at the Architecture + Women NZ Dulux Awards.[10] The NZIA recognised Naismith as a Distinguished Fellow in November 2025.[11]
In 2009, Aimer and Naismith designed and built identical townhouses, with shared common areas, in Newmarket for themselves and their extended families to live in.[12] Dubbed "a social experiment", the design allowed for experimentation of community, intensification, and intergenerational living.
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