SEO Lead (Malaysia)

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

Alongside our global campuses we also collaborate with talented contractors and freelancers from all over the world to help us achieve our crazy big goals. While we support flexible remote-friendly ways of working for this role were focusing on Malaysia so we can best support our teams and keep collaboration flowing.

This role is a 12-month engagement working 40 hours per week.

What youd be doing in this role

As Canva scales change continues to be part of our DNA. But we like to think thats all part of the fun. So this will give you the flavour of the type of things youll be working on when you start but this will likely evolve.

Youll lead Canvas SEO growth in Malaysia defining executing and scaling a strategy that reflects the unique realities of your market. This isnt about following a global playbook; its about building one for your market.

Youll own the end-to-end SEO strategy across technical content and authority-building pillars verifying the opportunity prioritizing what matters and delivering measurable growth in sessions signups and engagement.

Youll be supported by a global network of experts Regional SEO Leads Technical SEOs Product Managers and Content Specialists and have access to Canvas proprietary SEO platforms and best-in-class third-party tools. Youll also collaborate closely with your International SEO Strategist who provides regional capability leadership coaching and alignment across markets.

At the moment this role is focused on:

Strategic SEO Leadership

• Lead the end-to-end SEO strategy for Malaysia spanning technical content and authority pillars and lead at every level from day one. Before your team is built you are already leading: shaping the SEO roadmap influencing stakeholders and driving decisions. Leadership is a behavior not a function of headcount.

• Translate market insights into a focused high-impact roadmap aligned with Canvas international growth goals. Always communicate your local work in terms of Canvas broader International and growth priorities not just country-level KPIs.

• Continuously evaluate market performance adapt to shifts in user behavior and prioritize the highest-ROI initiatives.

• Represent SEO as a strategic function not an execution layer in country planning discussions. Contribute actively to the global SEO growth engine by sharing learnings frameworks and precedents that scale beyond your market.

• Never pause because of a blocker. If a resource isnt available a process isnt working or a dependency is slow find another path. Collaborate with the right people to unblock it yourself. Great SEO Country Leads find a way always.

• Build systems playbooks and ways of working that reduce dependency on you personally. Your goal is a market that runs autonomously where the methodology is owned by the team self-improving over time and doesnt stall when youre not in the room.

Team Building & Capability Development

• Define clear goals rituals and development plans to grow your teams autonomy and impact. 

• Foster a culture of ownership curiosity open communication and experimentation

Market Expertise & Competitive Intelligence

• Become Canvas definitive expert on Malaysias search landscape platforms user intent competitors and trends.

• Continuously analyze search behavior market signals and competitive activity to uncover new opportunities and influence Malaysia roadmap.

• Validate local hypotheses through data and user insights ensuring every initiative has measurable rationale.

Content & Localisation Strategy

• Partner with localisation and design teams to deliver high-quality locally relevant content that resonates with your markets culture and search behavior.

• Prioritize and optimize high-impact categories combining English-to-local localisation with bespoke content creation.

• Collaborate with central teams to leverage scalable systems (creator templates internal linking AI tools) while tailoring them for local impact.

Technical Excellence & Link Building

• Maintain strong technical foundations: site speed indexation structured data hreflang implementation and mobile optimisation.

• Partner with the i18n Technical SEO Specialist to identify and address localized technical needs.

• Define and oversee link-building goals and tactics using outreach specialists and local partnerships to improve authority signals.

Performance Analytics & Reporting

• Develop country-specific KPIs aligned with both SEO and country business goals.

• Monitor and analyse performance across all key metrics sessions signups returning users and visibility.

• Communicate results and learnings transparently with stakeholders across Country International SEO and Central Growth teams.

• Surface insights proactively highlighting whats working whats not and how youll pivot for improvement.

Navigating the Evolution of Search & Discovery

• Monitor AI search and discovery trends across your countrytracking how users find information through ChatGPT Claude Perplexity Googles AI Overviews and other emerging AI-powered platforms

• Assess channel viability in your market: Determine where traditional SEO still drives strong ROI versus where AI discovery social search or other channels should be prioritized

• Experiment with AI optimization strategies: test approaches for visibility in AI-generated answers LLM citations and next-generation discovery experiencesincluding GEO and AEO techniques

• Document learnings for the global SEO engine: Share whats working (or not working) with AI search optimization in your country to inform how Canva approaches these emerging channels globally

• Approach search evolution as a team capability not an individual task. Build a methodology that adapts so when search shifts your market has already moved.

Youre probably a match if

You have Malaysia Market Expertise:

• Native Malay speaker with business-level English

• Deep understanding of Malaysia search behavior cultural nuances and internet user dynamics

• Ability to bridge local market insights with global business objectives

You have Strategic Thinking & Market Intelligence:

• Proven ability to assess markets synthesize insights and propose bespoke strategies (not just replicate playbooks)

• Experience verifying channel opportunities and knowing when to invest vs. pivot

• Capability to identify what will work in YOUR market based on data and local understanding

You have Proven SEO Leadership:

• Demonstrated track record leading successful SEO projects on large websites (500 pages)

• Comprehensive understanding of all three SEO pillars (content technical link building) and how they integrate

• Experience with comprehensive SEO and analytics toolset (Google Analytics Search Console SEMrush Ahrefs Screaming Frog Deepcrawl Mode Looker Dragon Metrics)

You are a Relationship Builder & Embedded Partner:

• Outstanding communicator who brings clarity to diverse stakeholders and makes collaboration easy

• Proven ability to build trust-based partnerships and influence without authority

• Experience working cross-functionally and embedding with non-SEO teams

• Track record of translating technical SEO work into business impact that resonates with leadership

You have an Ownership Mindset:

• You act like its your business not just your job

• You proactively propose strategies rather than waiting for direction

• You solve problems resourcefully and escalate strategically

• Youre comfortable with autonomy and accountability

You are a Data-Driven Decision Maker:

• Excellent analytical skills for data-driven decision making

• Ability to develop reporting frameworks and KPIs that align with both SEO and business goals

• Transparent about whats working whats not and whyusing data to make the case for priorities

You are a Team Builder (as you scale):

• Ability to recruit develop and retain high-performing teams

• Experience leading through rapid growth and scaling challenges

• Focus on building team culture where trust support and personal growth thrive

You have a Future-Oriented & Adaptable Mindset

• Curiosity about emerging channels: Youre actively learning about AI search LLMs and how discovery is evolvingnot waiting for playbooks to be written

• Comfort with ambiguity: You can experiment with AI optimization strategies (structured data for LLMs content formatting for AI answers) even when best practices are still being established

• Channel-agnostic thinking: You understand that SEO increasingly means discoverabilitywhether thats traditional search engines AI tools social platforms or channels we havent imagined yet

• Data-driven adaptability: You can objectively assess when to double down on traditional SEO versus when to pivot resources to AI discovery (or anything else more suited)

• Early adopter energy: Youre the person whos already testing how Canva appears in ChatGPT Perplexity and Googles AI Overviewsbringing insights rather than waiting for direction

Nice-to-Haves

• Experience developing and executing multi-year market expansion strategies

• Mobile-first optimization expertise (critical for mobile-dominant markets)

• Experience working in hyper-growth startup environments

• Familiarity with multi-platform ecosystems (Google local search engines/social platforms)

About the team

At Canva we create tools that empower the world to design. Our mission is to democratize design and empower creativity for anyone and everyone on every platform. Since launching in August 2013 Canva has grown exponentiallywere one of the worlds fastest-growing startups and the journey has only just begun.

International is becoming Canvas biggest growth driver in 2026 and beyond. To reach our foundational goal of having 1 in 5 internet users use Canva every month were shifting from translating English successes to implementing truly local strategies that resonate with and convert local audiences.

The SEO group spans the globe with keyword researchers technical SEO specialists content specialists copywriters engineers data analysts designers and operations specialists. As SEO Country Lead for Malaysia youll be part of the Logged Out Experience (LOX) Group and International Supergroup working in a dual alignment model embedded in your Country team locally while contributing to Central SEO globally.

Other stuff to know

We make hiring decisions to engage contractors based on your experience skills and passion. When you signify interest in the Project please tell us the pronouns you use and any reasonable adjustments you may need during the contractor-accreditation interview process.

Please note that contractor-accreditation meetings are conducted virtually.

We celebrate all types of skills and backgrounds at Canva so even if you dont feel like your skills quite match whats listed above - we still want to hear from you!

Check out for more info.

Remote Work :

Yes

Employment Type :

Full-time