Engineering logbookOpen to full-time Software Engineer roles
Saddat Ahmad
Mathematician by Day, Software Engineer by Trade
Mathematician by day, software engineer by trade — a living, accurate timeline from Inspect Element at age 11, through an accelerated math track and a Math + CS double major at DePaul, to shipping production SaaS products.
- since:
- "2013 · age 11",
- coding:
- 13 yrs,
- milestones:
- 24,
- status:
- "open to work · SWE",
Technical skills at a glance
Full-stack software engineer — Math + CS double major at DePaul University, Chicago. Every skill below is backed by a shipped project in the timeline.
- Languages
- PythonJavaJavaScriptTypeScriptHTML/CSS
- Frontend
- ReactNext.jsTailwind CSSFramer Motion
- Backend & Data
- REST APIsAuthentication & BillingPlotly DashLLM APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic)
- Delivery
- Production SaaS LaunchesEnterprise SoftwareConsultingFreelance Client Work
How the stack connects
system-diagram · liveThe skills above aren't isolated badges — they're one circuit. Languages feed the frontend and the backend, both merge into production SaaS, and the current running through it all is shipping. Every trace below is backed by the timeline underneath.
For recruiters — why Saddat Ahmad
- DePaul University senior, Math + Computer Science double major in Chicago, graduating with 28+ college credits of momentum.
- Software Engineer intern at Ally Financial — built an internal trading system in Python with Plotly Dash plus a React build.
- Technology Consultant at Protiviti — built an AI task-management system and delivered software to stakeholders.
- Shipped Imprompter, a production SaaS with authentication, billing, and 65 users — plus freelance and consulting delivery for real clients.
Currently seeking full-time Software Engineer roles. The fastest way to reach me is email — here is my GitHub and LinkedIn too.
Elementary School
Inspect Element — the future was written
My dad bought a brick of a Dell laptop. Within a month I discovered 'Inspect Element' on Internet Explorer — a color-coded mess of divs and ids that made no sense and caught my eye immediately. I started making my own .html files, copying and pasting code from other sites. I had no idea what I was doing. All I knew was that I was doing.
MIT Scratch — a machine at 2D games
I split my free time evenly between soccer, Minecraft, and Scratch. You can't blame me for 'wasting' time — I was 12. I was a machine at making 2D pixel and sprite shooter games.
Code Club & the 'translate' button
A new after-school club opened — Code Club — meeting twice a week on Code.org. Still block-based, but I loved their 'translate' feature that converted blocks into actual JavaScript. I lived for that club.
A year off — and a lifelong friend
I did absolutely nothing for programming that year. I made my first real friend — who, ten years later, is still my closest friend. I enjoyed graduating elementary school and everything that came with it.
High School
35 hours of Python — and a head start in Geometry
I came into Lane Tech already ahead in math: I'd passed the Algebra exit exam in 8th grade, so I started freshman year in Geometry. On the coding side, two teachers told me I couldn't handle AP Computer Science. That weekend I taught myself Python — 35 hours on Codecademy's Python 2.7 by 5 PM Saturday. Then I had to do something with it: calculators for specific classes, little pseudo operating systems, all on Repl.it.
APCSA + TCS — Java and the calculus ladder
The single most important class I've ever taken. The same teacher who said I'd fail watched me score a 4 on the AP exam. Java — a real, strict, object-oriented language — taught me to be thorough. In parallel, I passed the Algebra 2 exit exam and moved into TCS (Trig, Calculus, Statistics), then passed the calculus exit exam — clearing the way into AP Calculus BC the following year.
AP Calculus BC, college Calc 3 — and the world broke
I placed into AP Calculus BC, then passed another placement exam that decided whether I'd take Loyola Calculus 2 or 3 — I cleared into Calculus 3. Around January the whole world broke — COVID, the economy, everything — so I finished college-level Calculus 3 over Zoom. Technically I didn't ship much beyond small side projects, but I learned React this year and used it for most projects over the next two to three years.
Graduated with 28+ college credits
Graduated Lane Tech with over 28 college credits headed into DePaul. Accepted to other schools — Georgia Tech among them — but chose to stay in the city. Got a physical computing kit that would later kick off my hardware journey. Time to shift into gear two.
University
DePaul, a double major, and GitHub finds its identity
I started at DePaul as a Mathematics + Computer Science double major — leaning into the accelerated math foundation I'd built in high school. This is also the year my GitHub really took shape. My first official project, notesappv1, committed April 7, 2022. From here on almost every project aimed — however unrealistically — at building a successful solo SaaS. I was also deep into trading algorithms and crypto bots.
Keyboards, and freelancing in earnest
My physical engineering journey took off — custom split ergonomic mechanical keyboards, from the Corne through the Lily58, Hillside48, and my current daily driver, the Atreus62. This was also when freelance development began in earnest, starting with my cousin's lawn company website.
ProtoGenos — engineering meets business
The year of ProtoGenos — the project I poured the most time into up to that point, and the first where I handled real business operations. Multi-model LLM interface with mid-conversation model switching. I applied to YCombinator and got close to filing an LLC. It ultimately failed, and I pivoted to DigitalGrowthArchitects.
Two internships + Enhanced Technologies
The summer between junior and senior year I landed my two main internships: a Software Engineer internship at Ally Financial and a Technology Consultant role at Protiviti. Alongside that I started a second company, Enhanced Technologies, working primarily with a consulting firm, Unicorn Wizards Consulting — building their site and two more client websites under a revenue split, then a prototype and full MVP for a white-label SaaS product before the engagement came to a natural end.
Imprompter ships — the compounding continues
I launched Imprompter — my first fully launched SaaS, with auth and billing, now at 65 users. Every prior SaaS attempt never officially launched; this one did, and kept growing.