AI Design Specialist, Johannesburg (6-month contract)
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Job Location:
Johannesburg - South Africa
Monthly Salary:
Not Disclosed
Posted on:
13 hours ago
Vacancies:
1 Vacancy
Job Summary
Join the team redefining how the world experiences design.
Hey gday mabuhay kia ora 你好 hallo vítejte!
Thanks for stopping by. We know job hunting can be a little time consuming and youre probably keen to find out whats on offer so well get straight to the point.
Where and how you can work
This role is based in Johannesburg and is a 6-month contract position.
At Canva we believe in flexibility and trust our Canvanauts and partners to choose the balance that empowers them and their teams to achieve their goals. Youll collaborate closely with global teammates across Research Product Design and Engineering while working remotely.
What youd be doing
As Canva scales change continues to be part of our DNA and nowhere is that more exciting than in AI. Were building world-leading visual AI and this role plays a critical part in making that happen.
Youll sit at the intersection of design data and AI research bringing world-class visual judgment into the model training and evaluation a Core Research environment your work will materially strengthen the feedback systems that push our models toward premium intuitive and globally competitive performance.
At the moment this role is focused on:
Annotating and labeling large volumes of visual data including images UI layouts compositions graphics and photography with high precision
Evaluating AI-generated outputs for aesthetic quality composition accessibility usability and brand alignment
Developing visual scoring rubrics and structured evaluation frameworks to guide model improvement
Identifying patterns failure modes and edge cases to help improve model performance
Translating nuanced design critique into structured actionable feedback for ML engineers and research scientists
Using generative AI tools to prototype workflows test hypotheses and creatively explore model behaviors
Contributing to the development of taxonomies for visual styles attributes and design patterns
Maintaining high standards of data quality and documentation across annotation projects
Youre probably a match if
You have strong design fundamentals composition color theory typography layout hierarchy and storytelling are second nature to you
You have a portfolio that demonstrates visual excellence across graphic design product design UI/UX illustration or related domains
Youre familiar with generative AI tools and understand how training data and annotation influence model behavior
You can evaluate visual outputs with precision and clearly articulate structured repeatable feedback
Youre comfortable working in documentation-heavy cross-functional environments
Youre excited by the idea of shaping how AI models see and create
Bonus points if you have:
Experience with Figma Adobe Creative Cloud or 3D tools
Prior annotation data labeling or ML operations experience
Basic familiarity with Python prompt engineering or dataset tooling
Knowledge of accessibility guidelines (e.g. WCAG) usability heuristics or user research
About the team
This role sits within Content Studio in the Content & Discovery Supergroup the team focused on empowering the world through world-class content.
We combine creativity research and technology to ensure Canva delivers visually outstanding accessible and globally relevant design experiences. As Canva accelerates its AI capabilities Content Studio plays a key role in embedding design excellence directly into model development.
Youll collaborate with researchers ML engineers product managers and designers to ensure Canvas visual AI feels premium human-centered and unmistakably Canva.
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.
Please note that interviews are conducted virtually.
Remote Work :
Yes
Employment Type :
Contract
Key Skills
- IVR
- SOAP
- Avaya
- Solaris
- Cost Accounting Standards
- Database Design
- Hibernate
- ITIL
- Weblogic
- Express.js
- Contracts
- ASP
About Company
We're a global online visual communications platform on a mission to empower the world to design. Featuring a simple drag-and-drop user interface and a vast range of templates ranging from presentations, documents, websites, social media graphics, posters, apparel to videos, plus a hu ... View more
