The humble washing machine is an indispensable “smart” asset in the hyper-busy world that we currently live in !

Sadasivam Narayanan, our next pathbreaker, Lead Engineer – Laundry Platforms at Whirlpool India, develops strategies for better cycle design / structure to deliver optimal performance for front load washers.

Sadasivam talks to  Shyam Krishnamurthy from The Interview Portal about the core emphasis of his work on purposeful and consumer-centric innovations that solve real life problems.

For students, strive to develop an attitude of always trying something out of your comfort zone which keeps your learning curve active.

Sadasivam, can you tell us what your growing up years were like?

I am Sadasivam Narayanan (aka Sada). My father served in the sericulture department of Tamilnadu and my mother was a home-maker. I come from a humble background and our family was barely making ends meet during my childhood. My father’s job had frequent transfers – making us shift between remote villages and cities. This gave me the privilege to learn about different cultures and lifestyles at a very young age.

I learnt what integrity is from my father. Even during the toughest of times, he stood tall in his values. An interesting incident happened when I was probably 8 years old. South-Indian idlis are popular right? As a kid, Idly used to be my regular breakfast and one day I went on a protest with my mom that I can’t have them anymore.  My mom asked if I knew some of my friends get to eat idli only on Diwali because their family cannot afford it everyday? I still remember I didn’t believe what she said. What is insignificant to someone, may be a privilege to others. These life lessons shaped me into the person I am today. 

Kids’ worlds are full of dreams, aren’t they? I always had this fascinating thought of becoming an adult overnight and doing things independently. I dreamt of becoming a teacher, a musician, a doctor, an astronaut and what not! I may not be the only one, sure many kids dream that way.  My dreams back then as a child were probably impressions I took from people I admired. I am a father for a son who’s doing his pre-schooling. When I observe his thought process and energy, I realize kids’ dreams are limitless, pure,yet powerful!

I completed my 12th grade with an outstanding high school percentage. Some of my well-wishers advised me to choose medicine, but engineering had my attention. The IT buzz back then influenced my decision to choose engineering as my career.  

What did you do for graduation/post graduation?

Got my hands dirty : 

My father and I believed that hands-on exploration would deliver a strong learning foundation – after all Engineering is all about the real world! We thought a Diploma would do this. It’s not a usual path one would take (after 12th std with good grades). But I joined a Diploma in Tool & Die Engineering at Gedee Technical Training Institute. Though I was a book-worm all throughout my schooling, I found the practicals there interesting. We built a few hand-made sterling engines, got our hands dirty with a parabolic solar cooker, made several press tools and injection molds in 3 years. The 4th year was a year-long internship at a company in Hyderabad. The diploma pushed me both physically and mentally and instilled a lot of confidence in me. 

Learn-and-work mode : 

After my diploma, I did my bachelors in engineering part-time while I did a full time job at Bangalore. I had to manage both my studies and work in parallel. I completed my graduation in Industrial Engineering from Indian Institution of Industrial Engineering as a silver medalist. 

Back to academia:

I enjoyed technical details at work – the engineering calculations and Finite-Element-Analysis. I unplugged myself from work and pursued a full time masters to accelerate my career growth. I completed my post graduation in Integrated Design & Manufacturing from Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham as a Gold medalist.

What made you choose such an offbeat, unconventional and uncommon career?

The 4th year internship of my diploma in the mold-making industry changed my perspective. I had the curiosity to understand “how things work”. Later I found that the molded plastics and their design intrigued me more than the tool itself. It was a calling of my heart. 

How did you plan the steps to get into the career you wanted? Or how did you make a transition to a new career? Tell us about your career path

Getting into new product development :

After our internship, we had Aktis Engineering Solutions, a product-development company from Bangalore visiting our campus for the first time. Why would a product development company visit a technical institute that teaches manufacturing courses? Fortune or destiny, call it with different names, but that was the turning point of my life. I dove in, attended the interview and got selected. My career in product development started at Aktis where I met some of the greatest minds who were truly passionate in engineering. I started off as a Design Engineer there – developing wireless rain sensors, solenoid irrigation valves and also had a short stint with automotive seating system development for US based clients. I joined bachelors part-time as soon as I joined Aktis inorder to become a better qualified engineer. I grew as a project lead in a short span of 3 years handling projects on my own. The dynamic experience that I had there fueled my passion for developing new products.

It’s a special feeling to see what you designed in the real world. I still recall the very first day when I had the physical product of what I designed in my hands, it’s like a baby to you, your brainchild.

I had completed my Bachelors part-time then. I quit my job and joined a full-time masters program.

Journey with Whirlpool :

Post my masters, I got selected in Whirlpool’s Global Technology & Engineering center at Pune. I joined their Laundry division, where I serve as Lead Engineer till date. 

I started my career there as an Aesthetics engineer, designing parts for washers and dryers that would catch a consumer’s first attention and some serve as their key touch points. I also developed the Human-Machine-Interface (HMI’s) modules where  consumers would give input on what and how to wash. These are plastic and sheet-metal components that have an appealing geometry, fit, color and finish to it.  My job role was to develop these modules for the US region and I had to travel for integration events. During one such trip, I had an opportunity to support the Hydraulics sub-system.

Given my previous experience with developing irrigation products, I loved exploring myself in the hydraulic space again. I got back to India and made a permanent transition to Hydraulics. I enjoyed developing cloth movers, lint filters, valves, pumps, heaters and dispensers. These are components that enable product performance.

I also got an exciting opportunity to work on Cycle Design as an extended role. I took it as a full role soon after. In this current role, I develop logic for the washer to operate.

Working in a product based company like Whirlpool gives a full product-life-cycle knowledge starting from scoping a project for the business case, concept generation, concept development backed by virtual simulations, detailed design, prototyping, testing, building production tools, ensuring process and product capabilities, integration events with stakeholders and production kickoff. It’s a very systematic and strongly defined process.

How did you get your first break?

Here’s how I got the breaks : 

Internship : My first break was a year-long internship in the tool-making industry. To be honest, the hands-on exploration I had with Diploma made the academic-to-industry transition very smooth and easy. I had rotating roles across functions in the company which gave me flavors of what different verticals in an organization would do. After my first few months in internship, I developed an aspiration to shift my career from manufacturing to Product Development / Design.

Like-minded friends and external training : 

While I aspired to have a career in a new field, the reality is my current skill set would not take me there. Thankfully, I had a few like-minded friends along with me and we invested our internship remuneration and weekends in learning new skill sets. Computer-Aided-Design is a basic skill required for a new product development engineer. While I had some experience in AutoCAD and Creo, I learnt Catia (a tool that’s widely used in Automotive industries) from Central Institute of Tool Design in Hyderabad.

Campus interview :

When Aktis Engineering Solutions visited us for campus interview at the end of our Diploma, my certificate course in Catia did help me to demonstrate my interest towards the product development industry. The investment paid off.

Networking :

I had built a huge expectation out of myself post masters program and was very specific in choosing companies that would feed on my passion to develop new products. Most of my day went in creating connections, applying for suitable job roles and building networks in Linkedin. I established a direct connection with several HR professionals seeking out opportunities. That’s how I landed my dream job in Whirlpool!

What were some of the challenges you faced? How did you address them?

Challenge 1: Dealing with internal conflict

After spending 4 years of my life doing Diploma and thinking that would be my career, what if your mind protests and your heart doesn’t like to take that up? What would you do? Do I need to settle for what’s already on my plate or feed my dream? This conflict did trouble me in a big way back then.

That’s when I found support from mentors. If you have an internal conflict – it’s high time you open yourself up to people whom you have faith in.  I got some good guidance and directions which helped me take small, but definite steps to travel from “what I do” towards “What I want to do”.

Challenge 2: Dealing with career gap

At times we feel, a fancy degree or some certification would make us truly special in the recruitment world. But in reality we are fitted in a normal distribution curve! The question is how far are you from the mean line? In order to stay close to the mean line one needs to have the right blend of academics, skills and attitude. 

While I continued to create connections and apply for positions after my masters – things can’t change overnight, right? Dealing with a career gap is not easy. The door opens only when your impression strikes an opportunity and the external factors are conducible. Many times, we tend to be hard on ourselves for results that are driven by factors out of our control.  A monk in Ramakrishna Math made me see through these lenses. While I was waiting for a job offer, it was really hard to strike a balance with my mind. One of Swami Vivekandanda’s famous quotes, “They alone live who live for others, rest are more dead than alive” deeply resonated in me and I started volunteering myself at Ramakrishna Math during that period.  That gave me a sense of purpose and instilled confidence in myself. I sailed through the difficult phase with divine grace.

Where do you work now? Tell us about your current role

I work with the Washer facility in India for Whirlpool, based in Pondicherry. I develop strategies and cycle structure to deliver performance and energy for front load washers. To put it simply : There are hundreds of components in a washer that interface with each other. If you run any program in a washer, there’s a specific logic by which the cycle runs, right? The motor rotates the drum, valves turn-on water supply, heater increases water temperature, pump drains out water etc., My job role defines what, when and how the loads (electro-mechanical parts) need to turn on to deliver best results for consumers. This work involves collaboration with multiple stakeholders : regulatory, marketing, labs, power-train, hydraulics, wash unit, Electrical and Electronics,  legal and a few more.

So, what are the skills needed in your role? How did you acquire them?

The product development cycle encourages early failures in order to ensure a robust winning design for production. Problem solving is a key skill and to solve problems one must have critical thinking abilities. Couple of years down the line in Whirlpool, I was fortunate to attend their flagship OpEx Black Belt training program. It helped me learn the art of not getting overwhelmed by the magnitude of a problem, but instead approach it with a critical thinking mindset and a curiosity-to-learn attitude. It helped me see the problem as an opportunity to learn. This is the part of my daily routine that I enjoy the most!

Whirlpool emphasizes on purposeful, consumer-centric innovation that solves real life problems. My passion to innovate has kept growing with my tenure in Whirlpool. I like the quote, “Minds are like parachutes; they work best when open”. My way of staying open is by asking, “How can I do this differently?” That simple question confronts our usual, comfortable thought process to explore new, unconventional paths to find solutions. It takes one idea to another, refine that idea, make it simpler and efficient. I have 5 patents till date – but with experience, one develops an affinity for constraints (on what won’t work) ! The journey to remain open must stay always on.

I have worked on projects across different regions : US, Mexico, Brazil and India. While we become experts in a particular domain, it’s also essential to break out of our comfort zone and try new things. My rudder has shifted from tool and die making to mechanical engineering to software / defining logic. This attitude of trying something out of my comfort zone keeps my learning curve active.

How does your work benefit society? 

As a Whirlpool employee, I develop home-appliances that help improve life at home while being better for the environment. There is always more laundry at home, it seems to be a vicious cycle, isn’t it? As a kid, I saw my mom spending hours daily in everyday chores. Within my capacity, I am improving the lives of several people like my mom.

Also being a volunteer at Ramakrishna Math, one of the oldest NGO in India started by Swami Vivekananda, I offer my service to their activities in a small way . 

Tell us an example of a specific memorable work you did that is very close to you!

I will call out the latest one. We launched a new flagship front load washer last year with which you can refresh fabrics and kill a variety of odors without having to really wash them with water. Sounds interesting? It’s our proud innovation that helps consumers get lasting fabric protection, sanitization, odor removal all in an Eco Friendly way.

From a non-technical side, I am leading the “Inclusion and Diversity” workstream for the site. Every day, with every effort, we strive to welcome, hear, respect, and value everyone at work. Inclusion and Diversity is one of the core pillars of Whirlpool values. During this International Women in Engineering Day (INWED), we organized an academia connect where our women engineers shared their stories with budding engineers of the same gender and inspired them to prepare themselves for a career post-academia. Being a man, I never asked myself, “Should I choose work or family?” But to see this question strike a woman often, humbled me. 

What is insignificant to someone, may be a privilege to others.

When Shyam Krishnamurthy reached out to me, it was this experience that made me relate to his work, but the magnitude and impact he is creating to the society is truly inspiring!

Your advice to students based on your experience?

  • Listen to your heart : Don’t ignore that feeble voice and be true to yourself.
  • Make connections : You can take anyone as a mentor in the Linkedin world! There are thousands of professionals willing to lend a helping hand. Don’t hesitate to ask.
  • Take calculated risks : Pursue your dream, but hold on to a job till you make it.
  • Expand yourself : The expansion mindset is critical for growth. It’s never what is for me. Expand yourself by putting your family, team, organization above self. That’s the quality of a true leader.
  • Serve others within your capacity : They alone live who live for others – Swami Vivekananda.

Future plans?

My quest for problem solving, innovation, breaking out of my comfort zone and serving others would continue. 

Thank you Shyam for reaching me out to do this interview! It gave me an opportunity to self-reflect. I express my deep sense of gratitude to all those mentors who helped me reach where I am. I hope this story is relatable to someone who is on a similar path not traveled by many.