Sanctuary Computer: Head of Technology

Headquarters: New York City
URL: https://sanctuary.computer
Original Job Posting: View on Notion

We are hiring a Head of Technology for the garden3d creative collective, to lead engineering at Sanctuary Computer and garden3d in the era of agentic computer code.

About garden3d

We are a worker-owned creative collective, innovating on everything from brands and IRL communities to IoT devices and cross-platform apps. We share profit, open source everything, spin out new businesses, and invest in exciting ideas through financial and/or in-kind contributions.

Our client roster includes Google, Stripe, Figma, Hinge, Black Socialists in America, ACLU, Pratt, Parsons, Mozilla, The Nobel Prize, MIT, Gnosis, Etsy & Gagosian. We’re the software team behind innovative products like The Light Phone & Mill, and we operate a global, decentralized community space collective called Index Space.

Our Studios

Sanctuary Computer: A development shop prioritizing close collaboration between the client and the craftsperson.
XXIX: A design studio thriving by continually asking what a creative practice can be.
Index: A network of physical spaces providing space for the exchange of knowledge and tools.
garden3d TK: An experimental media company exploring emerging themes in technology, design, and culture.

Partner Organizations: Lightphone, Mill, IngredientAI

⛰️ The Head of Technology Role

The garden3d Head of Technology has one mandate: everything we build works, holds up in production, and gets built the smartest way available to us. Working in close partnership with our founder & president Hugh Francis, this person sets the engineering standard and builds the culture that holds it.

You can be based anywhere. While there is some gravity in New York, we work across timezones and are happy to hire in Europe, Singapore, Chicago, or elsewhere.

This role spans all of garden3d, with roughly 70% of time dedicated to Sanctuary Computer (architecture, code review, estimation, and technical calls) and 30% to the broader garden3d technology story (shipping products, agentic workflows, and platform strategy).

Responsibilities & Mandates

Systems that hold up: Own the technical blueprint on important projects and make hard calls on architecture.
All in on agentic development: Make agentic development (loop engineering, evals, PR-opening agents) the default way Sanctuary Computer works.
Practical engineering: Prioritize convention over configuration, "boring" technology, and platforms that allow small teams to ship effectively.
Code quality: Set the standard for code reviews and keep senior developers sharp.
Hiring and empowering: Act as a magnet for exceptional engineers and set them up to do their best work.
Estimation and delivery: Ensure teams can reliably estimate work and meet delivery dates while protecting margins.
Technical voice in new business: Join client calls as a technical consultant, scope work, and write technical proposals.
Hardware sense: Understand how hardware constraints impact software for projects like The Light Phone and Mill.
The garden3d technology story: Decide which tools and platforms the collective bets on and which internal tools are worth turning into products.
Culture: Model values of partnership, curiosity, and accountability.

Qualifications

Must have:

12+ years building software, with at least 3 years leading engineers in a studio, agency, startup, or founder-led company.
Deep experience engineering complex systems (distributed services, data pipelines, multi-platform products).
A true technology generalist (frontend, backend, data, infrastructure, and native).
Strong preference for practical engineering and platforms-as-a-service.
Fluency in our stack: React, Next.js, Ruby on Rails, Elixir & Phoenix, Sanity, Postgres, Redis.
Experience as a technical lead in winning work (scoping, estimating, pitching).
A track record of hiring and mentoring exceptional engineers.
Hands-on capability; you can still write code when needed.

Nice-to-have:

Understanding of firmware, embedded systems, and IoT.
Experience in a client services environment.
Experience as a Sales Engineer or Solutions Architect.
Open source contributions.
Experience fostering design/engineering collaboration.
Experience in worker-owned or open-book companies.

Compensation

Trial Period: 4-month fraction trial contract, paid hourly between $110 - $175 p/hr pending seniority & experience.
Growth: After 12–24 months of proven success, you become eligible to join our worker ownership program.
Philosophy: We believe those who shoulder the most responsibility and create the greatest impact should be paid accordingly.

How we work

Transparency & Ownership: We release our P&L statements and open source our best ideas.
150% Carbon Negative: We are certified climate neutral and turn down work that doesn't align with our morals.
Async & Decentralized: We optimize for calm, thoughtful communication and focus time.
Remote Friendly: We are fluent in remote work.

How to Apply

Please submit a complete and thoughtful application, including relevant links that help verify your work experience and identity.

To apply: https://weworkremotely.com/remote-jobs/sanctuary-computer-head-of-technology

Head of Technology at Sanctuary Computer