Backend Software Engineer - Gen AI, Design Generation

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. 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.

At the moment, this role is focused on:

• Building systems to generate and edit designs, working closely with ML engineers, backend engineers, frontend engineers, designers, and PMs
• Owning the full lifecycle of features from design docs and stakeholder alignment through implementation, testing, and maintenance
• Staying across state-of-the-art advancements in deep learning and generative AI
• Facilitating knowledge sharing and advocating for engineering needs with non-technical stakeholders
• Modelling initiative and ownership in achieving goals and improving processes
• Identifying cross-team collaboration opportunities to deliver new ideas and improvements

You’re probably a match if:

• You have a strong interest in deep learning, generative AI, and solving real design generation challenges
• You bring commercial experience in backend software development (Java or similar OO language)
• You’re passionate about the intersection of design and engineering
• You’re grounded in CS fundamentals—concurrency, multithreading, data structures, system design
• You collaborate well with others and communicate effectively
• You’re curious and love learning and sharing new knowledge

About the team

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

We’re at the frontier of Canva’s most cutting-edge AI tech—where research meets product impact. From building prototypes to launching new design generation candidates, we’re creating magical, emotionally engaging AI experiences that charm users and simplify complex tasks.

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. We also offer a range of benefits to support your success in and outside of work:

• Equity packages – we want our success to be yours too
• Inclusive parental leave policy that supports all parents & carers
• Annual Vibe & Thrive allowance for wellbeing, social connection, home office & more
• Flexible leave options that let you recharge, give back, and support what matters most to you

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.

We celebrate all types of skills and backgrounds at Canva. Even if you don’t feel like your skills perfectly match what’s listed above—we still want to hear from you!

Please note that interviews are conducted virtually.