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KT
Kris Tyte
Service-minded builder (software, community, ethics)

Charlotte, North Carolina

I build systems that help people.

I'm Kris. I ship practical software, I run community programs, and I spend an unhealthy amount of time thinking about the ethics of the defaults we put in front of real humans (because those defaults quietly run the show). If you're hiring someone who can move between product, engineering, and messy real-world constraints without getting lost in buzzwords, we should talk.

Full-stack web Systems thinking Nonprofit builder Human-centered UX Ethics in technology

About

I work at the intersection of software and service. The short version is I like building tools that make people a little more capable, a little less stressed, and a little less dependent on luck or gatekeepers. The longer version is that I run nonprofit programs, I build products, and I try to keep my ethics in the room even when it would be easier to pretend they are not.

I call my approach "Technology Philanthropy" (the idea that technology should be developed and applied for the benefit of all humanity). It is not a brand slogan for me. It is more like a personal constraint that keeps me honest when the incentives get weird.

Anyway, if you are scanning this page as an employer, or possible future collaborator, the point is simple: I can build, I can lead, and I can communicate. And I do not need to cosplay as corporate to do it.

Areas I tend to be useful
  • Full-stack web systems (APIs, data models, deployments)
  • Product thinking (from vague goal to shipped thing)
  • UX and usability (reduce friction, increase trust)
  • Community programs and volunteer operations
  • Ethical tech and risk thinking (privacy, safety, incentives)
If you need a resume-style list of technologies, I can do that. I just try not to lead with it because it is rarely the hardest part.

Selected work

A few public things that show how I think and what I ship.

Values (the stuff that actually drives my decisions)

Service, not theater

I am not interested in looking helpful. I am interested in being helpful. That means shipping, measuring, fixing, and being honest about tradeoffs.

Ethics in the defaults

Good intentions do not survive contact with incentives. I try to design systems that protect people when attention is low, time is short, and the easy button is tempting.

Humanism (and yes, I am a Celebrant)

I am a member of the American Humanist Association and a registered Humanist Celebrant. I help people mark life events with meaning, without supernatural framing, and with a lot of respect for the humans in the room.

If you are wondering whether values matter in a job, I get it. Sometimes they are just posters on a wall. But in software, values are where you end up when the requirements are vague and the consequences are not.

Experience

A simple timeline. If you want the formal version, the resume link up top is there.

Chief Executive Officer
Step In, LLC (Step-in Shield)
Charlotte area

Operations, business, and product development. I like small teams when the work is real, the feedback loop is tight, and nobody is hiding behind process for the sake of it.

Co-founder
USA Web School
Nonprofit STEM education and community programs

Building programs that help people learn, grow, and participate. Tutoring, mentoring, tools, and infrastructure that make service easier to sustain.

Organizer and Humanist Celebrant
Humanism Works and The Humanist Society directory listing
Charlotte, NC

Community organizing and ceremony work for weddings, memorials, and major life transitions. It is surprisingly aligned with product work: listen carefully, get the details right, and treat people with dignity.

Army Health Care Specialist
US Army (82nd Airborne)
Earlier career

Early training that permanently shaped how I think about responsibility, standards, and what it means to be useful when things are hard.

Education and learning

I treat education like a habit, not a phase. Some of it is formal, some of it is self-driven, and a lot of it is just the daily practice of building, testing, and explaining systems until they make sense.

Formal and structured learning

University-level study in human-centered computing topics (social systems, design, cognition) alongside the day job. If you want specifics, ask and I will give you the clean, non-hand-wavy version.

Applied learning

Building products and nonprofit programs is a constant education in incentives, usability, and the quiet ways systems fail. It is also where the good ideas get stress-tested by reality.

Contact

The fastest way to reach me is email. Tell me what you are building, what is broken, and what "good" looks like. If it is a fit, I will respond quickly. If it is not, I will still be honest.

Hiring?
I do well in roles where I can own outcomes, talk to humans, and keep the system honest.
Resume