He was a Maiar of Aulë, which was the Vala of Crafting, so prodigy is probably underselling it. As a side note, considering what happened with both Saruman and Sauron, I would say Aulë was probably a very shitty boss.
Aule also created the dwarves against the explicit orders of Iluvatar, so it kinda runs in the family. Wasn't Morgoth a Maiar of Aule too? Nope, a Valar. Thanks for the correction!