Smangele completed her matric in 2007 at Mashiyamahle High School in Ndwedwe. She graduated in 2011 with a National Diploma in Office Management and Technology from the Durban University of Technology (DUT), followed by a Bachelor of Technology (BTech) degree in 2012. Her BTech project focused on the importance of Information Administration in Office Management and Technology. In 2019, she completed a Master of Management Science degree in Business Administration at DUT, with a dissertation on youth entrepreneurship in the iLembe District Municipality of KwaZulu-Natal.

Her professional career began in 2010 after completing her In-service Training at DUT, when she worked as an Administrative Faculty Assistant in the Faculty of Applied Sciences until 2012. She then became the Departmental Secretary in the Department of Public Management, Law, and Economics at DUT’s Pietermaritzburg campus, where she gained experience in academic coordination and leadership. From October 2016 to July 2017, Smangele served as a Personal Assistant to the College Principal at uMgungundlovu TVET College, where she gained insight into the Public Sector environment and regulations.

From 2017 to 2024, Smangele worked as a Faculty Officer at the University of Zululand, managing academic program matters, assisting students with applications, and coordinating examinations. Since January 2025, she has been the Faculty Manager in the Faculty of Science, Agriculture, and Engineering at UNIZULU, overseeing student administration, faculty assessments, stakeholder liaison, and staff management.

Smangele aims to pursue a Doctoral Degree and is particularly interested in research related to Entrepreneurship Education and Youth Entrepreneurship.