Young Innovator: Sam Twist

During the V8 Carbon Fibre launch (see p.96) in Bangkok, Thailand, Dyson’s very own Sam Twist was asked questions about their latest innovative product. But when it came to details concerning marketing and distribution, he joked to the Philippine media delegate, “I’m just a humble engineer!”

- Pat Calica

You see, Sam Twist is a Design Engineer at Dyson. But he isn’t just a ‘humble engineer’ as he would like us to believe.

Joining the company right after graduating in 2014, Sam has already taken on various engineering projects for Floorcare—the largest and most established category at Dyson. He has worked in both the New Product Innovation and Development sectors and transferred his designs and ideas to production in Dyson’s technology centers in Malaysia and Singapore. His early work helped Dyson adhere to the new European Regulations and also had his hand on refining the design for the V8 Carbon Fibre Fluffy Cleanerhead.

We picked the brain of this 20-something engineer to see how working in one of the world’s most innovative companies has helped him grow as an innovator and how he is contributing in shaping Dyson’s future.

What first sparked your interest in technology and product design?

From a very young age I was always breaking things, taking things apart, and understanding how things work. I originally wanted to be an architect. I got to work in an architecture firm and all of the architects told me, “Don’t be an architect.” So I came away from that confused. What should I do? I kind of like math and drawing and a bit of physics and stuff. So design and engineering was a bit of a natural shift. Then I studied at Loughborough University in England and never really looked back. I enjoy it. I get to work with my hands every day, get to break things, set things on fire. It’s quite exciting.

What’s it like working in Dyson?