Seth Marple ’12

Seth Marple ’12 graduated with dual majors in English and Computer Science and a minor in Writing before going on to get a master’s degree in Computer Science from Johns Hopkins University. Marple is the co-founder and chief technology officer (CTO) of Calibyr Corporation, which was recently named the third fastest-growing private company in the Mid-Atlantic by Inc. Regionals for achieving 1,225% growth between 2021 and 2023 and ranked 212 on the prestigious Inc. 5000 list for achieving 1,825% growth between 2021 and 2024. Marple has been busy leading the company in providing “secure, scalable, and mission-critical technology solutions that empower federal agencies to navigate an ever-evolving threat landscape with confidence.” While the transition from English major to software engineer to entrepreneur had some bumps along the way, Marple — who describes himself as “a Swiss Army Knife as a kid” — has seen it all as “just another problem to solve.”

What brought you to McDaniel and the world of Computer Science?

I knew I didn’t want to go to a bigger school, and McDaniel was the right fit. I was in the Honors Program and I wanted to play my trumpet and soccer. McDaniel immediately met my goals and more, but I wasn’t sure what I was going to study. I started as a Math major but I had already taken Calc 1 and Calc 2 in high school, so I ended up starting in this very theoretical math class. I bombed it. Hated it. But I was taking courses for the Honors Program with English professors, so I switched my major to English while still taking some applied math courses. The spring semester of my sophomore year, I took Intro to Computer Science and realized, “Hey, I really like this. What would it take for me to do Comp Sci?” This was the end of my sophomore year and I was set to study abroad in Budapest the next semester, so I only had three semesters left to add this major. But the good news was that I had already taken all the math courses for it, so I just needed to fit in the actual Comp Sci courses. I was able to get it done in that year and a half I had left.

What was that evolution like for you?

Growing up, I’d kind of been like a Swiss Army Knife: You could kind of throw anything at me and I would solve it. I didn’t really have a passion specifically for any one thing and enjoyed everything. So, the liberal arts education at McDaniel allowed me to take different courses, focus in on something and see, “OK, I could make a career out of this.” And that evolution continued in my professional journey, too. I started out in a medium-sized government contractor for three or four years and then moved to a small company. That made me realize that there are a lot of small companies out there doing this work; maybe I could do it, too, and maybe even do it better. I liked working in smaller companies better. There is something to be said for having control over what work you’re going for and who you’re contracting for. I decided I wanted to found my own company while I was still working for a small company where the CEO was very supportive of me establishing my own footprint in the space. Founding a company was never the plan; it’s just something I found along the way in my journey.

What parts of the Comp Sci curriculum were most useful to you as you started your career in the industry?

I loved that the Comp Sci program was a mix of theory and hands-on lab experience where we were actually learning and writing code. I also appreciated learning several different computer languages during my time at McDaniel because once I went into the real world, it wasn’t all Java. Having the experience of navigating different languages within the same data structures was hugely helpful. The biggest thing for computer scientists and this profession in general is the willingness to solve a problem, to research and synthesize what others have done to figure out the solution. Someone might not have done exactly what you’re doing before, but they may have done pieces that you can put together with your own experience to solve the problem. If I’d had more time, I would have loved to have taken more courses, but I got a good foundation on the Hill. In that sense, McDaniel left me very prepared for my first job, which I secured in February of my senior year after attending a job fair.

What does Calibyr Corporation do, and what is your role as co-founder and CTO?

Calibyr supports the mission success of our federal government customers by delivering innovative software, cybersecurity, and systems engineering solutions. That means on a day-to-day basis, we are writing code, making diagrams to explain what the code does, and making sure that whatever code we’re interacting with is secure. We do a lot of work with data, pull out any interesting pieces, and store it in a way that our clients can access or visualize to explain it. We receive the data, get it to the right place, create the queries and retrieval processes, present the data to customers who are trying to understand their business needs, and so much more. There’s a whole workflow and that workflow must be secure. The biggest challenge for me is that I’m still doing the work and running the business itself is almost a side hustle on top of a full-time job. The initial challenges were figuring out how to do everything that a business owner needs to do in the startup phase. It became a research project for me, another problem to solve. I started to realize, now that I was down in the weeds, the challenges the other companies I’d worked for or seen along the way were facing and had a whole new sense of admiration for them. It all makes a lot more sense once you’ve gone through the journey yourself.

What do you attribute Calibyr’s growth to?

It’s the result of a lot of work, but I attribute everything that goes well to my co-founder and CEO, the team we have built, and our employees. We’re at about 10-15 employees right now, and we’ve built a community where we care about everyone’s well-being both inside and outside the office. Our employees have done a great job and we appreciate everything they do for us. One of the reasons we started Calibyr was to provide a better work-life experience. Being recognized as a Best Workplace by Inc. for a second time in 2025 really validates that approach and has fueled our growth. 

What are some of your favorite McDaniel memories?

One of the big experiences for me was studying for a semester in Budapest, which kind of helped me discover a love of traveling. I also met my wife, Priyanka Marple ’12, in college, which is obviously pretty life-changing. We studied abroad and were in the Honors Program together. Working through all those courses, Priyanka and I still talk about some of the books we read, the professors who taught us, and the courses we took. The whole McDaniel experience really stuck with us.