Engineering Manager (BE Java / Python - Platform) - Design Generation Platform

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, Adelaide and Auckland. But you have 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.

Advancements in Generative AI have opened up a huge opportunity for Canva to re-imagine how we design. This role is in the thick of it, working at the frontier of new world class Design AI technology and products. Through leading a platform team of highly talented Backend engineers this role will be responsible for the foundations that power design generation.

This role will see you:

• Leading a talented platform team to develop and scale Canva’s design generation systems that use cutting-edge AI and ML technologies
• Collaborating with product, research, frontend, and backend engineers to build delightful, intelligent design tools
• Coaching backend engineers, supporting their growth and fostering a culture of excellence
• Guiding the engineering direction, strategy, and long-term roadmap for the Design Generation Platform
• Partnering with product and research leads to accelerate our ability to ship impactful AI experiences
• Building team capability through hiring, up-skilling, and mentoring
• Driving resource planning and balancing exploratory innovation with high-priority delivery

You're probably a match if

• You have strong experience in both people and technical leadership, particularly within ML platform or product engineering
• You've successfully led long-term engineering projects and managed cross-functional collaboration
• You're great at communicating technical detail in a way that aligns with business value and stakeholder expectations
• You’re passionate about AI, backend engineering, and fostering team growth
• You have strong fundamentals in software engineering including concurrency, architecture, and design patterns

About the team

The Generative Experience Group’s mission is to “Empower the world to design by developing and applying AI that can create every type of design and ingredient on Canva.”

This is an exciting and emerging problem space with weekly innovations. Our close-knit team collaborates with engineers to prototype and develop new experiences, works with researchers to explore uncharted territories, and tackles some of today's biggest challenges. We continuously improve our current offerings to create better ways for people to achieve their design dreams. Our goal is to create magical, emotionally engaging AI experiences that charm, simplify complex tasks, and foster meaningful connections.

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.