Staff Software Engineer - Platform Workflows

Job Description

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:

• Driving technical strategy for platform workflows, making trade-offs that balance short and long-term needs across multiple teams and domains

• Deeply understand “the 80% workflows” performed by platform engineers day-to-day and how these contribute to the broader mission

• Providing technical expertise to multiple teams and contribute to engineering standards and best practices across Canva

• Navigating complex stakeholder relationships, translating between technical and business needs while advocating effectively for engineering requirements

• Taking significant ownership of configuration frameworks and infrastructure abstraction tools, leading improvements to code structure and reducing technical debt

• Defining and rolling out new tools, standards, and processes that improve engineering effectiveness across multiple teams

• Helping build and develop the team through effective delegation, mentorship, feedback, and by identifying opportunities for others to grow

• Working alongside the team engineering lead to identify high-value opportunities and ensure the team’s roadmap is always pointing in the right direction

You're probably a match if

• You have deep experience with Python or Go programming languages

• You have strong experience with Kubernetes (including Custom Resource Definitions), AWS, and ideally GCP cloud environments

• You have prior experience in platform engineering roles with demonstrated ability to work across multiple teams

• You have experience with AI tooling for software engineering, such as Copilot or Claude Code

• You have exceptional communication skills with the ability to influence and build relationships across diverse stakeholders

• You have proven ability to think strategically, connect external changes to strategy, and drive momentum on large initiatives

• You have experience developing others, providing actionable feedback, and building high-performing teams

• You have prior experience as a consultant, business analyst, or developer advocate would be valuable

About the team

Platform Workflows is part of the Developer Workflows subgroup. Our vision is an infrastructure platform that can rapidly evolve to meet fast-changing business needs, with new functionality able to be delivered in days, not weeks. We do this by empowering platform engineers to deliver value quickly, safely, and confidently. Using developer advocacy and a product mindset, we build the paved paths that accelerate platform development, ensuring that the platform can rapidly evolve to meet the needs of all Canva engineers. The Workflows teams, Web, Backend and Platform form the “glue” between Canva engineers and the platform teams. We own the paved path developer experience and help create the tools, services, and configuration necessary for the platform to accelerate all Canvanauts.

This staff engineering role is a unique blend of developer advocacy, product management and platform engineering. While writing code day-to-day is still a core activity, your impact will be realised by your ability to consult with Canva engineers to ensure that downstream platform teams will shape their roadmaps accordingly. You will deliver value to the business by ensuring that platform engineers have all the tools and systems at their fingertips to rapidly iterate on the platform and deliver new capabilities in response to changing business needs. Your ability for deep customer empathy and consultancy, in this atypical software engineering role, will ensure your success and that of our platform engineers.

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 see AI as a powerful amplifier of creativity and technology at Canva. We’re evolving how we assess AI skills in our Technology hiring experience - you’ll tackle interactive, real-time challenges that reflect the kind of work we do. In some interviews, you may also be asked to solve a problem using an AI tool to show how you approach challenges with tech by your side. Your recruitment partner will walk you through what to expect. 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.