ADI Employee Stories: Meet Derek Sam

Black History Month may be coming to a close, but ADI continues to celebrate Black voices and educate ourselves on the importance of culture and diversity well beyond February. To help raise awareness, ADI's People of Color and Allies Network (POCAN) has been highlighting the stories and achievements of individuals within ADI, celebrating their unique contribution to the company.

ADI's Jonathan Wilson recently sat down with fellow POCAN member and Design Evaluation Engineer, Derek Sam to discuss in detail Derek's role, a recent promotion, support and inspiration from the Black community, and much more.

Interview with Derek Sam, Design Evaluation Engineer at Analog Devices

Jonathan: What do you do for a living? 

Derek: I am presently working as a design evaluation engineer. This role has been known by different names over the years – bench evaluation, product engineer, etc. I manage a small but amazing team of design evaluation engineers and test engineers. 

Jonathan: Is there anyone in the Black community who inspired you to live and work as you do?  

Derek: I am inspired by many, but I will speak of two: Kofi Annan, the former UN chief and my father. I look up to Kofi Annan because his achievements allowed me to conclude at a young age that if I put my mind to something and worked hard enough that I would achieve my goals. Additionally, my dad instilled in me the lesson that it's OK to fail – but one needs to keep trying afterward. Failure is a given but it must not break you. 

Jonathan: What does your job at ADI entail? 

 Derek: A design evaluation engineer's job starts when the product requirements are being gathered and specifications are being developed. There is a pre-silicon phase and a post-silicon phase to this job. Before silicon arrives, we design the required interface boards and write the software needed to evaluate the performance. Customer experience is a big deal so we also look for usability problems, which allows us to anticipate issues customers may eventually find even before we tape out the IC. Once we have silicon in hand our real evaluation work starts, and it continues through qualification and release. After that, we support post-release issues that may arise.

Jonathan: What challenges have you faced recently? 

Derek: I got promoted recently, and I am super thrilled to have been recognized with this accolade, but at the same time, I am aware that this will be a challenge. Being at this level means that the responsibilities have been taken up a notch. I am not just accountable for my team anymore, but also for my ability to help other teams in my organization get where they’re going as well. We’re not just evaluating superior technology, but we’re solving the customers’ problems, and we’re enabling our teams to execute at their best level. My responsibilities haven’t changed so much explicitly, but the expectation has certainly gone up. It’s quite a challenge. Additionally, I’m gaining a better perspective on how our jobs, all of us, need to be more customer-centric – even those of us who are not customer-facing. 

Jonathan: What keeps you interested in your position? 

Derek: The best part of my job is when I can contribute to the resolution of a problem, small or large. Three years ago, we were lacking a customer-facing applications engineer for a new product that was being sampled by four customers. I was asked if I could fill in the gap while someone permanent was found. Three years later I am still supporting that device and I continue to field customer questions. Opportunity comes in different forms and my agility allowed me to make that transition from an evaluation engineer for that product to a different function. I learned a lot through that journey! 

Jonathan: What lessons has your work life taught you? 

Derek: That the brightest ideas usually come from surprising quarters. As ADI has grown larger there is a large diversity in thought, approach, process, and culture. I have learned that to have true longevity and success I must embrace that. 

Jonathan: What role has the black community had in helping you achieve your career and personal goals? 

Derek: I am fortunate to have many Black professionals in my circle, both family members and friends, who provide me with frequent support and advice. Working as one of the few brown faces at a company, especially early in my career, I would often wonder if I could truly succeed with that company. My support network provides that crucial affirmation and guidance amidst what is usually a friendly and respectful, but at times lonesome professional environment. It is truly a blessing to have this community to rely on for advocacy, mentorship, and sponsorship across many facets of my life. Community often leads to unexpected places, for example, when I was at a crossroads about the course of my career some years ago, it was the insightful advice of a fellow black engineer that led me to ADI. We sometimes underestimate the importance of community in our personal and professional lives!  

Jonathan: For others listening to this: is there any advice you’d want to pass on to them? What would you want them to know? 

Derek: I would encourage especially the younger engineers to strive to broaden their knowledge base and horizon actively. Many times we let job titles box us in. The most rewarding periods of my career have been the times that I have sought to work on something beyond my job title and area of expertise because at the end of such projects or tasks I developed a new skill or better understanding of the topic. You build versatility that way. To have longevity we must renew ourselves and one of the ways to do that is to acquire skills in adjacent areas of our present expertise. For example, I believe that learning Verilog, signal integrity, and data analytics enhance my ability as an evaluation engineer. That way, beyond just testing parts and identifying existing problems, you can use that domain knowledge backed by data to extract deeper insights and predict potential future problems -- before we’ve even given customers the part.