If only we had a way to run code in a pre-defined isolated environment that can hide most of the differences of the actual hardware...

Oh, we do have Docker/Podman?

Then why not use _them_ to define your build pipelines? Bonus points: you can run them locally without tearing out your hair. And you can use normal scripting languages and task runners (taskfiles, good old makefiles, Ninja, etc.) for sequencing.