Staff Machine Learning Engineer Visual Suite Platform (AU remote)

About the Group/Team

Were the Productivity group within the Design Experience supergroup. We build the surfaces people use to organise and act on information in Canva: Sheets Tables Docs Whiteboards Presentations Websites and Email. Right now were focused on using AI to automate whole user flows not just bolt on smart features. We want to invent what productivity looks like next and rethink how the work actually gets done. We move fast and ship often and we care about the details that make AI feel effortless. Our work touches millions of people every day so getting it right matters.

About the Role/Specialty

This role drives AI strategy from a product perspective: identifying where ML and AI create the most value across Productivitys user journeys and shaping how those AI-enabled experiences get built. A core current focus is toolifying existing Productivity functionality wrapping it so LLMs and agents can use it to complete real user tasks. You will manage your time between scoping unstructured product and technical problems setting patterns other engineers build on partnering with product to shape where ML has impact and mentoring engineers to raise the technical bar.

What youll do (responsibilities)

• Identify and drive where ML/AI creates the most value across Productivitys user journeys

• Toolify existing Productivity functionality so LLMs and agents can act on it

• Partner with product design and other engineering teams to shape AI strategy for Productivity

• Set technical patterns and standards for how ML/AI gets applied and shipped across the team

• Unblock organisational-level technical challenges that a single team cant solve alone

• Mentor engineers and help raise the craft of applied ML engineering across the group

• Balance speed and rigour shipping AI features that hold up at Canvas scale

• Translate shifts in user needs and the product roadmap into ML/AI priorities

• Set the AI direction for the Productivity group and empower engineers across teams to own delivery against it

What were looking for:

Youve got hands-on experience applying ML/AI to real product problems in production and youre comfortable owning technical direction without needing everything handed to you. Youre genuinely method-agnostic: as happy building a well-tuned classical model as adopting the latest technique whatever gets the job done. You work well across teams and youre just as happy influencing a roadmap as you are writing code. Youre pragmatic: youd rather ship something useful and iterate than chase a perfect model nobody uses. You want to find and drive where AI actually helps people get things done.

What the candidate will learn & how will they develop at Canva:

• Apply ML at the scale of Canvas global user base where a small improvement can change how millions of people work

• Shape ML architecture and technical standards that get reused across the Design Experience supergroup

• Own increasingly ambiguous cross-team problems and build the judgement to set technical direction not just execute against a brief

• Mentor engineers and contribute to hiring growing your ability to shape a teams technical bar

• Sharpen your product instincts by measuring ML work against real usage and impact not just model performance

Additional Information :

Dont tick all the boxes Dont worry about that - nobody does!  

Wed still love to hear from you! At Canva we know that great engineers come from a variety of backgrounds and we value passion curiosity and a willingness to learn just as much as specific experience. If youre excited about this role but dont tick every box we encourage you to apply you might a great fit in ways you didnt expect!

Whats in it for you

Achieving our crazy big goals motivates us to work hard - and we do - but youll 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.

Heres a taste of whats 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   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.

All interviews are conducted virtually

Remote Work :

Yes

Employment Type :

Full-time