Engineering Manager - AI Research

Join the team redefining how the world experiences design.

Hey, hello, hiya, 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. That means if you want to do your thing in the office (if you're near one), at home or a bit of both, it's up to you.

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:

• Coaching, mentoring and growing a team of machine learning engineers and researchers, fostering a culture of collaboration, open communication and psychological safety.
• Driving the planning and refinement of research goals, ensuring alignment between Canva’s needs as well as the skill sets, strengths and growth opportunities of engineers and researchers on the team.
• Identifying opportunities for cross-team collaboration to work on new ideas and improvements that help achieve our research goals.
• Facilitating knowledge sharing and effectively advocate for engineering and research needs to non-technical stakeholders.
• Partnering closely with the Product Managers to understand and contribute to the product roadmap, as well as Product, Research and Platform teams across the Generative AI Supergroup to achieve our goals.
• Aligning with AI Research Group leadership on prioritisation and resourcing of research projects that are most impactful for Canva.

You're probably a match if:

• You are experienced in both technical and people leadership, making sound decisions and delivering outcomes on technical projects.
• You have great research skills with the ability to stay abreast of the latest developments in deep learning and generative AI. You are capable of translating cutting-edge research into practical solutions that enhance Canva’s user experience.
• You have experience or strong interest in design. This team works at the intersection of AI research and design so a genuine desire or proven experience in this space is preferred.
• You have the ability to support the team in defining and refining a research process that effectively balances experimentation in the solution space with feature delivery in the product space.
• You can effectively communicate (inside the team and outside) the value of research and development, translating research output to the business value and building support and trust from stakeholders.

About the team

The AI Research Group (AIRG) is responsible for developing solutions to Canva’s hardest problems. Through a culture of constant experimentation and prototyping, the AIRG combines the latest cutting edge techniques with novel fundamental research to solve complex, open-ended problems in the domain of image and design generation/editing. The group has license to propose it’s own research projects and ship only the most impactful work to fulfil its mission of making Canva an AI creative partner to every individual, team, classroom and enterprise in the world.

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 stack 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.

Please note that interviews are conducted virtually.