If you didn’t know any better, you might think Sainyam Arora has been in the quality field for decades.

When you look at his accomplishments — driving ISO 9001 conformance as a certified Lead Auditor, building real-time quality dashboards, and mentoring others across continents, it’s hard to believe that Arora has been in the quality field for less than three years.

He began his quality career at Johnson Matthey’s Devon facility, working in the Clean Air division as a process quality engineer, building his foundational expertise on auto catalyst production lines. He later progressed to the Savannah location, joining the Catalyst Technologies division as a quality assurance and systems engineer. Since then, he’s spoken at several events, spearheaded audits, and lead quality management systems.

This has brought him credibility within the industry, as he has authored work on Quality 5.0 and the intersection of AI and human-centered design in international research forums through IEOM and Quality Progress. He has also conducted multiple sessions at the recent Manufacturing and Automation Exchange (MAX) in Nashville and presented on creating sustainable quality systems at ASQ’s Lean Six Sigma Conference 2026. Beyond the stage, he serves as Awards & Recognition Chair for ASQ’s Lean Enterprise Division—evaluating criteria for the field’s most prestigious recognitions—and as a member of ASQ’s Quality Management Division within the Quality 4.0 Community.

His direct supervisor says “Everybody likes Sam.” His work has earned him many fans —for his Rookie of the Year application, the “Recognition at Work” PDF was 41 pages long—with numerous colleagues thanking him for his willingness to address problems, prevent quality issues, and organize training as well.

Several colleagues noted his top-notch presentation skills — “He can sell you a flat tire,” wrote one—as well as his enthusiasm. Even when his ideas mean more work for an individual employee, he manages to get them excited about the idea.

For his expertise, enthusiasm, and communication skills, Quality is proud to name Sainyam “Sam” Arora our 2026 Quality Rookie of the Year.

Early Years

Growing up in India, Arora learned about manufacturing through his parents. He went to boarding school at 15, where he participated in several extracurricular debate forums and served as the student body president.

From there, he moved 12,000 miles away to Penn State University. This was an adjustment, but he thrived, earning a 3.4 GPA and graduating with a chemical engineering degree.

After graduating, he brought his engineering and data skills to KCF Technologies, where he worked as a technical analyst focused on predictive maintenance, emerging industries, and Industry 4.0. He then joined Johnson Matthey as a process quality engineer and grew into the role of quality assurance and systems engineer. After about six months in the quality field, he investigated quality organizations and researched more about ASQ. From there, he became involved in ASQ events and leadership roles as well.

This was a pivotal time to join the quality field. With so many new technologies and changes in the industry, he appreciates the intersection of AI and human interactions.

Quality Philosophy

Arora says, “Quality is most valuable when it’s designed into systems proactively — not enforced reactively after something has already gone wrong.”

“I think the field is at an inflection point. The mechanical parts of quality work — documentation, routine audits, CAPA tracking — are becoming increasingly automatable. What can’t be automated is judgment, context, and the relational work of building quality culture. My interest is in being at that frontier: designing systems where the routine is automated, and people are freed up for the thinking work.

A line I keep coming back to: quality works best when it feels like support, not surveillance. That philosophy shapes how I approach every system I touch.”

And with so many AI fears getting attention, he has some calming thoughts on that front as well.

“I don't think AI replaces quality professionals — I think it transforms what quality professionals need to be. The future role looks less like a compliance function and more like a data architecture and systems design function. Quality engineers will need to understand how data flows, how to eliminate silos, and how to build the infrastructure that AI can actually learn from.”

In terms of the next generation of Quality, “I think experienced practitioners have a responsibility to build those bridges intentionally. That’s not just an observation for me — it’s part of why I stay active in ASQ, why I take on speaking engagements, and why I care about this award beyond personal recognition. It signals something about what the field values.”

Doing Things With Purpose

Applying his quality work to his personal life has meant doing everything with intention. Applying things from his profession to his kitchen, for example, means auditing his fridge for ingredients. He even cooks for colleagues occasionally, and his manager said she enjoys introducing him to new dishes he didn’t grow up with.

His cultural roots also show up at work: he contributed to organizing Johnson Matthey Savannah’s South Asian Heritage Month celebrations, bringing visibility to a community often underrepresented in manufacturing. That same instinct for community led to his appointment as a Board of Directors member of TEDxSavannah, where he leads the speaker committee —mentoring speakers in shaping, refining, and staging ideas that matter.

In his free time, he enjoys reading, listening to music, learning new things, and running. He’s done the Savannah Bridge Run, known as “The South’s Toughest Bridge Run,” 5K and 10K, and his goal this year is a half marathon.

Even with a race with a 6% incline, Arora says he approaches it with a goal and a strong mental attitude. (One strategy is telling himself that the hill will not win. Mental toughness can accomplish a lot.)

Quality Improvement and Initiative

Michael Hepworth was part of the team that first interviewed Arora for the Johnson Matthey position and describes Arora as a great team player.

“You will always leave a meeting with him encouraged, no matter if the problem is discouraging,” Hepworth says. “Sam is more mature than his years should suggest. He’s the Rookie of the Year, and yet, I feel like he’s really held our organization together in a managerial way. He drives people to succeed.”

And this is done in an encouraging way. “He brings a lightheartedness to every situation. Absolutely, he takes things seriously, but there will be little jokes every now and then. He’s definitely worthy of the accolade, we’re very proud of what he does, he’s a high potential individual. We love the fact that he’s with us. Long may it continue.”

In his endorsement letter, his mentor Zac Jarrard of Jarrard Consulting wrote, “In my work across ASQ divisions and consulting organizations, I meet hundreds of quality professionals every year. It is rare to encounter someone so early in their career who combines technical rigor, community leadership, and system-level thinking the way Sainyam does.”

“We need more folks like Sam in the quality profession,” Jarrard told me. “I’m excited to hear where he goes for the future. As time goes on, he’ll just continue to grow. I’m just happy to be part of his journey.”

Dainette Emerson, quality and analytical services manager, Johnson Matthey Inc., is Arora’s direct supervisor. She says, “Everybody likes Sam. He's very easy to talk to. He’s very easy to get along with. He’s very energetic, you can feel his passion. When you talk to him, you can tell that he really wants things to succeed and he wants things to go in the right direction. The layered process audits, he brought that from another site. We had never seen anything like that here. And he gets people engaged in it, even though it’s extra work for them. He manages to get them engaged and to get them to where they want to look at these things. They want to make these improvements, which is rare. You know, most people can’t do that. I’ve worked in quality a long time and it’s hard to get people motivated sometimes, but he naturally gets people moving on things.

“He’s destined for more great things ahead.”