The K8 Control Panel

Software Engineer · Systems Online

About Me

Kate Thompson

MSOE 2027Milwaukee, WIAvailable May 2027

I'm a software engineering student at MSOE who takes projects from problem to production.
My projects span full-stack development and systems design: RantTrack (voice-first symptom tracker in React Native), Stormglass (environmental health forecasting with real-time API integration), a local-first AI system orchestrating multiple services around unified data models, homelab infrastructure with Docker Compose on constrained hardware, Cream City Docket (civic tech for Milwaukee government transparency), contributions to the Progressive Learning Platform (assembly language IDE for students), and eSubmit (Ruby on Rails submission system with Docker deployment). I approach projects methodically: understand the problem, research solutions, gather requirements, then plan implementation. I learned how to break down large problems from nearly a decade organizing technical events, Women in STEM meetups as a FIRST Ladies regional partner with my robotics team in high school, conference planning through SWE, and cultural celebrations as outreach chair of my sorority. I'm comfortable with the full project lifecycle: user research, requirements documentation, development, and knowledge transfer. Beyond coding, I've taught programming, write technical documentation that people actually use, present technical concepts clearly, and handle graphic design and visual communication.

Tech Stack

React NativeFlutterRuby on RailsJavaTypeScriptPythonDockerSQLite

Mission Log

RantTrack

Voice-first symptom tracker for chronically ill users. A custom NLP engine extracts symptoms, severity, and pain details from natural speech so users can log how they feel just by talking. 100% local, zero cloud dependency.

Stormglass

Real-time environmental health tracker built for people with chronic illness. Correlates barometric pressure, air quality, geomagnetic activity, and pollen with symptom patterns to forecast flare risk for conditions like ME/CFS, POTS, and migraines. Pulls from four free public APIs with no cloud lock-in, backed by a local PostgreSQL database and a Fastify REST API.

Cream City Docket

Milwaukee city government, made understandable. Monitors Common Council legislation and delivers plain-English summaries and email alerts so residents can act before votes happen.

Homelab Stack

Local-first AI infrastructure with 8 services running on a Mac mini: Ollama LLM, Open WebUI chat, n8n workflow orchestration, ChromaDB vector search, SearXNG private search, plus Git hosting and file management. Demonstrates Docker Compose orchestration with tight memory constraints, privacy-first architecture, and cost-efficient resource allocation on modest hardware.

Local Personal AI System

A Flask + Discord bot system orchestrating multiple services (Ollama, n8n, external APIs) around a unified SQLite schema. Demonstrates patterns for cross-domain data correlation, heterogeneous input normalization, agentic self-improvement with safety guardrails, and privacy-by-architecture. Shows how unified data models enable emergent pattern detection without hardcoding rules.

Where To?

I want to get coffee, go to a book store, hit a thrift shop, and get sushi for lunch. So many different coffee brands, so many thrift shops in the Milwaukee area, Where To helps you find the options that give you the itinerary that makes the best route. Scenic route feature coming soon!

Portfolio Website

The site you are currently visiting! Built to showcase my projects and skills with a custom design.

Progresive Learning Platform

Assembly language compiler built for students to replace an outdated software used in computer architecture courses to include modern IDE features while also implementing features to make learning assembly less intimidating.

eSubmit

Assignment submittal tool and autograder used in for programming assignments in multiple languages. Team focused on updating the docker infastructure and views for both students and instructors.

Beyond Code

Logos I've designed that were officially adopted, including process work and iterations.

10 items

Cross stitch, upcycled teacup candles, and other handmade projects.

3 items

Event promotion and materials for YDSA, KSM, and campus organizations.

7 items

SWE conferences, cultural celebrations, and community events I've organized.