Head of Technology
Sanctuary Computer
Hirezar Summary for South African Applicants
This fully remote full time position at Sanctuary Computer is open worldwide, so South Africans can apply. The estimated monthly salary is R215,833 – R385,417 ZAR. As a remote position, you can work from anywhere in South Africa — whether you're based in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, or a smaller town.
Job Description
We are hiring aHead of Technologyfor the garden3d creative collective, to lead engineering at Sanctuary Computer and garden3d in the era of agentic computer code.
Original job posting link
Aboutgarden3d
We are 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.
We think of our garden3d as collective for creative people, prioritizing a happy, talented, and diverse studio culture. We work on projects that bring value to our world, and we balance deep care for the work we do with a genuine curiosity about life outside of our jobs.
Sanctuary Computer - Development
AtSanctuary Computerwe're building a different type of technology shop - one that prioritizes close collaboration between the client and the craftsperson.
Our projects range from design-forward websites, to robust web apps, to native mobile development.
XXIX - Design
When we startedXXIXin 2013, we set out to create a different kind of design studio and we've thrived because we continually ask what a creative practice can be.
We're building a radically different kind of organization that values autonomy, growth, transparency, and shared responsibility.
Index - Community
Indexis network of physical spaces all around the world, Index provides space for the exchange of knowledge and tools.
We nurture trust within the creative community through generosity and abundance of ideas and care.
garden3d TK- Media
At garden3d, we're in the early stages of building an experimental media company exploring emerging themes related to the evolving landscape of technology, design and culture.
We aim to monetize this outlet, publish books, produce screenplays, and release music.
Plus, our partner organizations
LightphoneMillIngredientAI
⛰️ 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. We are a house of brands - Sanctuary Computer (development), XXIX (design), Index Space (community), USB Club (digital community), and the garden3d umbrella itself - and a lot of what all of them ship runs on software we wrote. 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. A lot of our people are in New York and there's some gravity here, but we already work across timezones and we would happily hire in Europe, Singapore, Chicago, or wherever you are. If you're the right person, we want to hear from you.
This role works with studio leads, developers, designers, project managers and clients across every garden3d vertical.
This person can move between a Rails migration, a Next.js app, a firmware release plan and an agent loop in the same week, and raise the bar on each of them.
They span all of garden3d, but their home base is Sanctuary Computer, where roughly 70% of their time goes. Our development studio is where the engineering standard gets set, and where it either holds or slips: architecture, code review, estimation, and the hardest technical calls on our biggest projects. The other 30% goes to garden3d's broader technology story: how we ship product for USB Club, build with agents across the collective, which tools and platforms we bet on, and what we build for ourselves.
They are also how we get better people. Our work is only as good as the engineers making it, so this person hunts for exceptional talent, sells them on us, and sets them up to do the best work of their careers. The ideal candidate looks at a worker-owned collective with four studios, an open P&L and clients like Google, Stripe, Brooklyn Museum and The Nobel Prize, and sees an engineering practice they can propel among the best in the world.
Responsibilities & Mandates
️Systems that hold up
We build web apps, native apps, data pipelines, content platforms and connected devices for clients who can't afford for them to fall over. This person has engineered complex systems for a long time, and it shows in the architecture they draw before a line is written. They own the technical blueprint on our most important projects, and they make the hard calls on the rest: what to build, what to buy, and what to leave out.
All in on agentic development
The way software gets built changed, and we intend to be ahead of it. This person is already deep in it: loop engineering, agents running aga
Tips for South African Applicants
Timezone Advantage
South Africa (SAST, UTC+2) overlaps well with European business hours and has a few hours of overlap with US East Coast. Mention your timezone flexibility in your application.
Salary in Context
At R215,833/month, this role pays well above the average South African remote salary. The USD equivalent ($140,000/mo) benefits from the favourable exchange rate.
Application Tips
Tailor your CV to international standards — use a clean format, highlight remote work experience, and include your English proficiency. Many SA applicants succeed by emphasising their strong work ethic and cultural adaptability.
Load Shedding Preparedness
If you're applying for a remote role, having a backup power solution (UPS, inverter, or generator) and mobile data as a backup internet connection shows employers you're prepared for South Africa's infrastructure challenges.
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About Sanctuary Computer
Sanctuary Computer is a company in the engineer industry that hires remote workers from South Africa. They currently have 2 open positions on Hirezar. View all Sanctuary Computer jobs →