Engineering Manager (Backend) - Video AI

Join the team redefining how the world experiences design.

Hey, g'day, mabuhay, kia ora, 你好, hallo, vítejte!

Thanks for stopping by. We know job hunting can be a little time-consuming and you're probably keen to find out what's on offer, so we'll get straight to the point.

Where and how you can work

Our flagship campus is in Sydney. We also have a campus in Melbourne and co-working spaces in Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. However if you live anywhere in Australia or New Zealand, you have a choice in where and how you work, we trust our Canvanauts to choose the balance that empowers them and their team to achieve their goals.

What you’d be doing in this role

As Canva scales change continues to be part of our DNA. But we like to think that's all part of the fun. So this will give you the flavour of the type of things you'll be working on when you start, but this will likely evolve.

At the moment, this role is focused on:

• Lead a team of backend engineers focused on building scalable video infrastructure and AI-powered services

• Drive the technical roadmap for video understanding, transformation, inference pipelines, and system performance

• Develop and champion approaches to leveraging Canva’s BE capabilities for AI/ML teams to perform exploratory R&D

• Collaborate across specialties to deliver innovative editing tools for end users

• Champion best practices in software development and system design

• Grow engineering talent through coaching, feedback, and hiring

You're probably a match if you have:

• Proven experience leading high-performing backend engineering teams

• Strong technical background in distributed systems, APIs, and infrastructure

• Ability to coach, develop, and grow engineering talent

• You bring strong system design expertise and are familiar with Java, even if you're not hands-on in day-to-day coding.

• A product mindset — comfortable making trade-offs and driving user-centric solutions

• Excellent cross-functional collaboration skills with Product, Design, and AI/ML teams

• Experience with video processing, asset management, or AI integration (preferred)

• A strong sense of ownership and bias to action in ambiguous environments

About the Team

The Multimedia group is on a mission to make multimedia storytelling quick, simple, and fun for everyone. Within the Video AI team, we focus on delivering powerful video creation tools and intuitive user experiences. We combine backend services, real-time media processing, and AI innovation to help our users bring ideas to life.

About the Role
As an Engineering Manager within Motion and Video AI, you'll lead a backend team shaping Canva's future in intelligent video editing. You’ll drive projects involving AI inference, media processing, and infrastructure, while collaborating closely with product, design, and AI researchers. You’ll also mentor engineers and build scalable systems that serve millions of users globally.

What's in it for you?

Achieving our crazy big goals motivates us to work hard - and we do - but you'll experience lots of moments of magic, connectivity and fun woven throughout life at Canva, too. We also offer a range of benefits to set you up for every success in and outside of work.

Here's a taste of what's on offer:

• Equity packages - we want our success to be yours too

• Inclusive parental leave policy that supports all parents & carers

• An annual Vibe & Thrive allowance to support your wellbeing, social connection, office setup & more

• Flexible leave options that empower you to be a force for good, take time to recharge and supports you personally

Check out lifeatcanva.com for more info.

Other stuff to know

We make hiring decisions based on your experience, skills and passion, as well as how you can enhance Canva and our culture. When you apply, please tell us the pronouns you use and any reasonable adjustments you may need during the interview process.

We celebrate all types of skills and backgrounds at Canva so even if you don’t feel like your skills quite match what’s listed above - we still want to hear from you!

Please note that interviews are conducted virtually.