We recently announced the winners of our inaugural Human Made Awards. Of all the categories we celebrated, there’s one we wanted to come back to and give a little more space: Technical Wizardry, won this year by Samantha Miller.
Technical excellence sits right at the heart of what we do at Human Made. It’s why our clients trust us with business-critical projects, and it references the standard our team holds itself to every day.
So when we asked everyone at the company to nominate the Human whose technical skill, problem-solving, and craft had set a new bar this year, it was a meaningful question. And Sam’s name came through loud and clear.
We caught up with Sam to talk about the award, the work, and what she’d say to other women weighing up engineering as a career.
How did it feel to win the Technical Wizardry award?
“I was completely shocked. I work with some of the most talented people in the industry, so to be recognised by my peers at a leading agency has genuinely blown me away. I’m incredibly proud, and if I’m honest, I’m still getting my head around it!”
What do you love most about what you do?
“I work on projects for a range of clients, and they all bring their own unique challenges that require creative technical thinking. I’m constantly learning, and that keeps things exciting.
“I love working with clients, understanding what they really need and finding the right solutions for them. I take a lot of pride in my work. I’m meticulous about the small details, because I think that’s what turns good work into great work. That craft and care really matters to me. I also love working at Human Made, and that makes a huge difference.”
What are some of your favourite projects you’ve worked on recently?
“Skyscanner Travel Trends 2026 was a highlight. I was the technical lead and worked closely with Skyscanner’s design team to realise their creative vision. I loved the technical challenge of building a scalable frontend that had to be dynamic, visually engaging and carefully crafted, while also being flexible and intuitive for editors. It’s the kind of project where the details really matter, and that’s where I do my best work.”
“AI is an area I’ve been working in a lot recently and find really intriguing. Last year I spoke at our WP:25 event about a project I led with AGBI, where we embedded AI into their editorial workflow to generate and refine content summaries for editors to review and publish. More recently I’ve led projects building tools that reframe existing content, using AI to show users only what’s most relevant to them. For me, AI is a tool to enhance what people can do, not a solution in itself. Keeping people at the heart of what we do is what matters.”
What advice would you give women looking to build a career in web development?
“Be curious and do what you enjoy. Seek out people to learn from at your local meetups, conferences and online. Share what you learn – there will always be something you know that others don’t. Take up opportunities and put yourself forward, even if you don’t feel ready. You have more to offer than you realise.”
Engineering at Human Made
We want Human Made to be a company where engineers from every background can thrive, feel genuinely recognised, and be proud of where they work.
Women are still massively under-represented in web development. And we would like to do our bit to change this. If you’re a developer thinking about your next move — and especially if you’ve ever been made to think engineering wasn’t a space for you — we’d love to hear from you.
Congratulations again to Sam, and thank you for everything you bring to the team.
