diff --git a/circuitforge_core/resources/profiles/schema.py b/circuitforge_core/resources/profiles/schema.py
index f3cc808..ac59020 100644
--- a/circuitforge_core/resources/profiles/schema.py
+++ b/circuitforge_core/resources/profiles/schema.py
@@ -55,6 +55,8 @@ class GpuProfile(BaseModel):
 
 def load_profile(path: Path) -> GpuProfile:
     raw: dict[str, Any] = yaml.safe_load(path.read_text())
+    if not isinstance(raw, dict):
+        raise ValueError(f"Profile file {path} must be a YAML mapping, got {type(raw).__name__}")
     version = raw.get("schema_version")
     if version != SUPPORTED_SCHEMA_VERSION:
         raise ValueError(
diff --git a/tests/test_resources/test_profile_registry.py b/tests/test_resources/test_profile_registry.py
index 4e808ff..5265bc0 100644
--- a/tests/test_resources/test_profile_registry.py
+++ b/tests/test_resources/test_profile_registry.py
@@ -1,12 +1,9 @@
 # tests/test_resources/test_profile_registry.py
 import pytest
-from pathlib import Path
 from circuitforge_core.resources.profiles.schema import (
     GpuProfile, ServiceProfile, load_profile
 )
 
-FIXTURES = Path(__file__).parent / "fixtures"
-
 
 def test_load_8gb_profile(tmp_path):
     yaml_content = """