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The Cartographerfig. I
Caleb Thede
QA Engineer @ TopNotchcharting the Master's
Plate II · The Cartographer

Code, design, and deep psychology.

The hand behind the atlas.

Computer Science · the logic Psychology · the depth

I started in psychology and followed a second pull into computer science — and the two never felt like separate paths. I build software, study the mind, and write about the place where they meet. This page is the portrait behind the work.

The storytwo paths, one map

I started college studying Psychology — not because it seemed practical, but because I genuinely love understanding how the brain works and why people do the things they do. I earned my Associate of Science, then followed a second pull into Computer Science. The two never felt like separate paths.

My passion for coding is real — I build in Python, Java, C++, and Kotlin, I design in Figma before I write a single line, and I care about every layer of what I make. But psychology isn't something I left behind. It's the lens I bring to every project.

"I want to build things that make people's lives genuinely easier — and understand them well enough to actually do it."

I'm planning to go back for my Master's in Psychology — not to leave tech, but to go deeper into the human side of it. Cognition, behavior, mental health. I want to understand these things well enough to build tools that truly help people.

I currently work as a QA Engineer at TopNotch LTD — writing test plans, running regression and integration testing, and working directly with dev teams to root-cause defects. Before that I managed a team of 16 at Ziggi's Coffee, which is also where my capstone app was born.

The pathhow I got here
  1. 2021

    A.S. Psychology — Red Rocks

    Where it began. An Associate of Science in Psychology (GPA 3.8) and a lasting question: why do people do what they do?

  2. 2022 – 2024

    Managing 16 at Ziggi's Coffee

    Leading a team taught me systems and people in the same breath — and it's where my capstone app was first born.

  3. 2024

    B.S. Computer Science — CSU Global

    The second path made formal. Full-stack development, Python / Java / C++ / Kotlin, and design-first thinking.

  4. 2024 – Now

    QA Engineer @ TopNotch LTD

    Test plans, regression & integration testing, root-causing defects with dev teams — an eye for the edge cases everyone else misses.

ALRESCHA

logic meets depth — the knot where the two cords of Pisces tie together. Two inks, one map.

Where I'm headedthe bigger picture

The bigger picture

Where I'm headed

Three charts I'm steering toward — each one a reason the next step matters.

Chart I · ☽ Depth

Psyche · the soul

Master's in Psychology

Going back for my M.S. — not to leave tech, but to understand people at a deeper level. Cognition, behavior, mental health. That knowledge makes everything I build better.

Chart II · ☿ Logic

Hermes · the play

Games as Therapy

Video games are one of the most underused tools in mental health. The right game — designed with real psychological intent — can reduce anxiety, build resilience, and create genuine connection.

Chart III · ☽ Depth

Asclepius · the healer

Mental Health Tech

There are apps for booking therapy. What I want to build goes further — tools grounded in real psychology that actively support mental wellbeing at every step.

The missionthat started it all

The mission that started it all

Therapy shouldn't be a privilege.

Growing up, school counselors weren't actual counselors — they scheduled classes and handled paperwork. I know I could have used someone to really talk to, and I never had that. A lot of kids don't. A lot of families can't afford to change that.

This is the real reason I do any of this. The code, the design, the QA work — it's all in service of one thing: I want to help people, and I want the help to reach the people who usually get left out. Accessible mental health support for kids and lower-income families who deserve it just as much as anyone else — including LGBTQ+ kids who don't always have someone safe in their corner. As a gay man, I know how much a single safe person can matter.

The dream I keep coming back to: one day, to build or work for a non-profit that provides real therapy — free or genuinely affordable — to the families and young people who can't reach it today. Real psychological grounding, not just an app that books appointments.

That's why the Master's matters. That's the thread that runs through everything here.

The instrumentshow I work

What I work with

The instruments

Two columns, two inks — the engineer and the designer are the same hand.

Languages & Development

Python
Java
C++
Kotlin
Full-Stack Development
QA & Test Engineering
PythonJavaC++KotlinSQLGitREST APIs

Design & Human Thinking

Figma / UI Design
UX Thinking
Prototyping
Psychology & Behavior
Problem Decomposition
Technical Communication
FigmaPrototypingUser ResearchSystems Thinking
Off the clockmarginalia
Star signPisces ♓ · the twin fish
PrideGay & proud · he/him
Currently playingStory-driven RPGs · studying them like systems
Currently readingMyth, psychology, and the space between
WritingThe Blue Ember series · eight books, one descent
Designs inFigma first — always