Hardware Expert

What you'll do

The title is misleading and the ad says so itself: this is not electronics or hardware support. It is programmatic CAD. A typical task hands you a dimensioned engineering schematic of a mechanical part, often with complex curved geometry, and you rebuild it as a precise 3D solid in Python, export it as a watertight STEP file, and check it against strict requirements on dimensions, topology, volume, surface area and inertia.

Getting a sweep or loft roughly right is easy. Most of the skill goes into making the generated solid match the expected one to the property, and diagnosing why it does not when a fillet or Boolean behaves differently than you expected. Solutions also have to be reproducible in a clean environment, so hand-tweaked GUI models will not do.

Who fits

• Strong Python
• Hands-on 3D CAD or computational geometry, including sweeps, lofts, fillets, chamfers and Booleans
• Reading dimensioned drawings and turning 2D schematics into correct 3D features
• Strong spatial reasoning and a habit of validating and troubleshooting models
• Tools named as relevant: build123d, CadQuery, FreeCAD, OpenCascade, Fusion 360, Onshape, SolidWorks and trimesh; none is mandatory if your skills transfer

The ad explicitly waives formal education and years of experience. Mechanical designers, CAD specialists, researchers, makers and independent experts are all invited if they can show the skills. The card also lists AutoCAD and RTL, which the description itself never mentions.

What it pays

$50–100/hour, but compensation is output-based: you are paid per task that meets specification, with minimum submission requirements. The hourly band is therefore a target, and how close you get depends on your speed with code-driven CAD. The ad expects about 15 hours a week on a schedule you choose, weekends included.

Process

Screening questions, an AI interview of about 30 minutes, then a hiring manager review. micro1 says roles are usually filled within 48 hours and first tasks start within 24–48 hours of onboarding.

Worth knowing

Good:

• Open globally, fully remote, flexible hours
• No degree or experience floor
• Rewards scripting fluency in CadQuery or build123d, a niche with few other paid outlets

Less good:

• Per-task pay means debugging time on a stubborn model is unpaid
• The title will attract applicants who do not fit, and may hide the role from those who do
• Minimum submission levels are not quantified
• Contractor engagement: no benefits

About this listing

Read on micro1's jobs portal on 24 September 2026, posted about a month earlier, 10 openings. The band, the hours, the tool list and the process are micro1's text; the reading of the work is ours. For a CAD role based on reading assemblies rather than building them, see FreeCAD Expert. See micro1.