Rustom Mazda, who interned with Pininferina, has been hired as a designer
A graduate from the National Institute of Design, Paldi has
landed a job in world’s leading automobile design house Pininfarina as a consultant
designer. Rustom Mazda, who graduated from NID’s product design department
in 2010, is the first NIDian to join the Italian auto-design firm which caters to
auto giants such as Ferrari, Ford, Jaguar and Fiat.
Talking to Mirror from Turino in Italy, Rustom, who joined Pininfarina earlier this
month, says, "I feel overwhelmed and honoured to be working at the ‘Mecca of auto
designing’. I have joined Pininfarina as a consultant transportation designer.
I couldn’t have asked for a better start to my career. It feels like a dream and
the feeling is yet to sink in," gushes Rustom despite having to go through lengthy
visa and work permit process to realise his dream.
"Hiring procedures for a non-European, especially in Italy, are a bit complicated
and involves a lot of paperwork and interviews. But at the end, all the running
around paid off," says Rustom who has come a long way from designing a vehicle for
rural India on his NID campus to designing sleek sports cars at the prestigious
Italian firm.
Commenting on his job profile, he says, "As a designer at Pininfarina, I will get
to work on the interior and exterior of cars ranging from Ferrari supercars to small
hatchbacks. I will also have opportunities to work on other transportation systems
like trains and forklifts."
"Here, even a junior designer is given opportunity to handle complete projects right
from the concept and sketch phase, to physical and digital modelling. We then consult
with engineers to further understand the complexities of cost and feasibility,"
he adds. He however, refused to disclose his pay package.
Earlier, Rustom had interned with the design house after winning the ‘NID-Pininfarina
Design Contest 2010’ where he designed a compact and affordable car for rural India.
During his internship, Rustom designed a sports car for Pininfarina, based on the
overall package of the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, reflecting Pininfarina values. During
that period, the recruitment process at Pininfarina was also in progress. Impressed
with Rustom’s work, he was offered a second internship in the firm in February 2011.
"I got a positive response from my seniors in July after they evaluated my internship
work," says the Mumbai lad.
Courtesy: Times of India
