As a Senior Software Engineer - Product & Features (Java) at Canva, you will lead the design and development of scalable backend services, collaborate with cross-functional teams, and contribute to solving meaningful problems at scale. Your work will directly impact Canva’s mission to empower the world to design by building and maintaining high-performance, reliable systems.
What You'll Do
- Lead the design and development of scalable, reliable backend services using modern frameworks and tools
- Drive collaboration with product managers, designers, and fellow engineers to scope, define, and deliver impactful product features
- Evolve and scale Canva’s backend architecture through thoughtful service design, system decomposition, and shared tooling
- Champion reliability, performance, and engineering best practices across multiple service domains
- Write robust, well-tested code and proactively identify areas for technical improvement or refactor
- Guide design and code reviews, mentor peers, and raise the technical bar for your team
- Maintain and improve service health, observability, and incident resilience in partnership with your team
- Work closely with product managers, designers, and frontend engineers to deliver end-to-end experiences that have real user impact
What We're Looking For
- Highly experienced building complex backend systems in production environments
- Strong Java fundamentals and ability to confidently write production-grade code
- Ability to apply backend concepts like multithreading, service design, and performance optimisation in real-world systems
- Comfortable taking ownership of features end-to-end—from architecture to delivery
- Ability to thrive in environments where you drive the “how”
- Balance attention to detail with pragmatism, and consistently ship reliable, maintainable code at speed
- Thoughtful collaborator who works well across disciplines and proactively brings others on the journey
- Understand the bigger picture—how your systems connect to product goals, reliability, and long-term scalability
- Enjoy mentoring others, offering constructive feedback, and lifting the technical bar for your team
- Hands-on experience using AI in coding/programming to drive greater impact
Technical Stack
- Java
- Modern backend frameworks and tools
- AI tools for coding/programming
Team & Environment
Cross-functional teams including product managers, designers, frontend engineers, and backend engineers
Benefits & Compensation
- 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
- Equity packages
Work Mode
Choice in where and how you work; remote across ANZ; hybrid options available. Locations include Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide.
Canva is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.
