Sanctuary Computer is a creative technology studio based in New York City’s Chinatown, operating both locally and remotely. The company approaches technology development with a philosophy similar to a hospitality-driven restaurant—prioritizing thoughtful collaboration, creativity, and a welcoming environment for both clients and team members.

The team works across design, branding, and engineering, serving well-known organizations such as Nike, General Electric, The Nobel Prize, Herman Miller, Adobe, and Dig Inn. Sanctuary Computer fosters a culture where technologists and engineers are encouraged to bring creativity, integrity, and artistic thinking into their work.

The company is currently hiring a Senior Firmware Engineer to support its IoT development teams.

About garden3d

The engineering work is carried out through garden3d, a worker-owned creative collective that develops innovative products ranging from brand experiences and real-world communities to IoT devices and cross-platform software applications.

The collective practices profit sharing, open-source development, and collaborative innovation, while also supporting new ventures and creative ideas through investment and shared resources.

Its client portfolio includes organizations such as Google, Stripe, Figma, Mozilla, MIT, Etsy, Parsons, Pratt Institute, ACLU, and The Nobel Prize.

The team has helped build innovative hardware products like The Light Phone and Mill, and also operates Index Space, a global decentralized community space network.

Garden3d emphasizes a diverse, supportive, and creative work culture, balancing dedication to meaningful work with curiosity and creativity outside of professional life.

Role Overview

The company is seeking a Senior Firmware Engineer who takes full ownership of their work and can confidently lead firmware development across hardware platforms.

This role requires someone who can quickly evaluate firmware environments, determine priorities independently, and deliver robust solutions without requiring constant direction.

The ideal candidate has real product experience, understands the difference between firmware that only works in testing environments versus real-world deployment, and designs systems that are reliable in the field from the beginning.

You will work across various embedded system initiatives, including connectivity systems, OTA infrastructure, sensor integrations, display pipelines, and hardware communication protocols.

The role also involves close collaboration with hardware engineers, product teams, and clients to deliver high-quality solutions for complex real-time systems.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead firmware architecture decisions across active product platforms
 • Bring up new hardware revisions and integrate peripheral drivers efficiently
 • Monitor firmware performance in production environments and deliver fixes when needed
 • Design wireless connectivity systems including pairing, OTA updates, reconnection logic, and fleet monitoring
 • Test and validate firmware behavior across different hardware configurations and edge cases
 • Integrate sensors, actuators, and communication modules into existing firmware systems
 • Participate in code reviews while maintaining high standards for performance, quality, and maintainability
 • Track project timelines, scope, and technical risks to ensure successful delivery
 • Communicate technical constraints and trade-offs directly with clients when required

Ideal Candidate

The team is looking for someone who is collaborative, calm, and easy to work with, while maintaining high standards for the quality of their engineering work.

The ideal engineer manages workflows efficiently, prioritizes deep technical work, and can also participate in strategic discussions when needed.

Candidates with creative interests such as design, art, music, food, or fashion are particularly valued, as these perspectives often contribute to a strong sense of product design and quality.

Required Technical Skills

• Strong experience writing production-level C/C++ firmware at the register level
• Experience shipping embedded firmware from development through mass production
• Ability to independently bring up new hardware including bootloaders, BSP, device trees, and peripheral drivers
• Deep experience with RTOS environments (FreeRTOS preferred)
• Strong debugging capabilities including schematic analysis and hardware instrumentation
• Expertise with low-level communication protocols such as I2C, SPI, UART, and GPIO
• Ability to independently manage project timelines, risk, and deliverables
• Experience communicating technical decisions directly with clients

Preferred Skills

• Experience with ESP32 using ESP-IDF
• Knowledge of wireless connectivity systems including OTA updates and device fleet recovery
• Embedded Linux experience including Yocto, Buildroot, kernel modules, and systemd services
• Experience integrating display systems (HDMI, DSI, LVDS) and UI frameworks such as Qt or LVGL
• Cloud connectivity experience including MQTT and AWS IoT
• Ability to translate product requirements into technical architecture
• Experience working in startup or agency environments with fast development cycles

Compensation

This is a contract-based role with compensation ranging from:

$150,000 – $200,000 per year, depending on experience.

Hiring Process

The interview process begins with an introductory conversation with members of the team.

Selected candidates will then complete a technical exercise designed to demonstrate engineering expertise and comfort with firmware development challenges.

Applicants are encouraged to submit complete and detailed applications, including links that verify their professional work and experience.

Incomplete submissions may not be considered during the review process.