Schmidt studied set design at the Salzburg Mozarteum and with Erich Wonder at the Akademie der bildenden Künste in Vienna. He regularly collaborates with Guth, their productions including Rigoletto for Paris Opéra, Der Ring des Nibelungen for Hamburg State Opera, Parsifal and Rodelinda for Teatro Real, Madrid, Don Giovanni for Dutch National Opera, Aschemond or the Fairy Queen for Berlin State Opera, Lohengrin for La Scala, Milan, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Lucio Silla in Barcelona, Lazarus for Theater an der Wien, Il trittico, Pelléas et Mélisande and Daphne for Frankfurt Opera, Tannhäuser for Vienna State Opera, Ariadne auf Naxos and Parsifal for Zürich Opera and the Mozart/Da Ponte operas at the Salzburg Festival. Schmidt also works with directors including Hans Neuenfels, Christof Loy and Andreas Homoki. He has won several prestigious awards.