manipulator

[ muh-nip-yuh-ley-ter ]

/ məˈnɪp yəˌleɪ tər /

a person who manipulates.

a mechanical device for the remote handling of objects or materials in conditions not permitting the immediate presence of workers.

Origin of manipulator

First recorded in 1850–55; manipulate + -or²

This character is both mentor and manipulator, which makes him complicated—and interesting.

Harrison Ford Discusses ‘Ender’s Game,’ Drone Warfare, Vietnam, and Playing A Badass President |Marlow Stern |October 28, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
Even the artisan and manipulator of inanimate objects, must win his journeymans card.

Criminal Types |V. M. Masten
"You can take that manipulator off in an hour or so," he told me.

Highways in Hiding |George Oliver Smith
This visionary was in reality a philosopher, that is to say, an experimenter and a manipulator of general ideas.

Repertory Of The Comedie Humaine, Complete, A -- Z |Anatole Cerfberr and Jules Franois Christophe

As a colorist and a manipulator of paint, he places him with Sebastiano del Piombo—that is, among the mediocrities.

Artist and Public |Kenyon Cox
The manipulator of the dice held a palm cupped over the mouth of the cup to prevent their escape.

Local Color |Irvin S. Cobb