Staff Python Software Engineer - Remote across ANZ

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:

• Shaping the crucial ML and Python specialty roadmap for the group, leveraging a strong product/platform mindset. Your role will be pivotal in defining the investment needed to elevate Python support and close the existing capability gaps.
• Building and delivering solutions to improve the Python and ML engineering experience at Canva, ensuring high standards of engineering excellence.
• Developing advanced tooling and metrics to enable both our team and platform users to understand and respond to the health of our systems.
• Improving and updating documentation, establishing best practices and guidelines for Python and ML engineering.
• Leading solution design meetings, participating in hiring interviews, and code reviews.
• Mentoring and guiding other engineers, playing a key role in their professional growth and development.
• Influencing and advocating for engineering best practices across the organization, ensuring alignment with Canva’s long-term strategic goals.

You're probably a match if

• You have solid expertise in Python development which is essential. Experience in modern development tools such as Bazel or Nix is a plus.
• You have experience with containerization, Terraform, and GitOps principles for automation and deployment is highly valued.
• You have prior experience or a strong willingness to learn about ML concepts and applications, with a desire to integrate new capabilities into existing ML infrastructure.
• You have familiarity with ML frameworks such as pandas, NumPy, PyTorch, Ray, and TensorRT is advantageous. Hands-on experience with CUDA as a platform operator is desirable.
• You have a proven track record of leading and executing large-scale engineering projects, showcasing an ability to handle increased scope and complexity compared to a similar senior role.
• You have demonstrated self-motivation and ownership over complex problems and their solutions, with a strong sense of accountability.
• You’re passionate about engineering excellence, systems architecture, and meeting non-functional requirements.
• You have a proven ability to foster team collaboration, driving collective success through shared challenges and goals.

About the team

You'll be joining the Language Ecosystem team, whose mission is to uplift language and ecosystem support across Developer Platform products. Working directly with teams across the group, your role will focus on enhancing support for specific language-related workflows and delivering solutions that eliminate capability gaps.

As Canva continues to invest in ML, there is a growing need to bridge the gap between the experience of our ML Engineers and that of our frontend and backend engineers. Python is the language of choice in the AI/ML space. However, our current developer experience has been primarily focused on TypeScript (frontend) and Java (backend), leading to challenges with Python support. Currently, the AI Platform teams have built some key capabilities, but further investment in Platform Engineering teams is required to elevate Python support to be on par with Java and TypeScript. This investment will enable AI Platform to concentrate on AI-specific capabilities while the Platform Engineering teams enhance the overall Python experience.

The ML Parity program outlines a staged approach to incrementally invest in Python-based ML-serving technologies, empowering our ML engineers and applied scientists to leverage all Canva platforms effectively. This role is essential in driving this transition and ensuring Python becomes a first-class citizen at Canva.

As a Python Specialist on the Language Ecosystem team, you'll:

• Lead collaborations with engineers across the organization to understand their requirements and jointly design platform infrastructure solutions with a strong emphasis on Python.
• Work alongside Developer Platform product managers and leadership to define strategic priorities and roadmap for ML and Python-related initiatives within the team.
• Proactively engage with engineers across Developer Platform by seconding into teams and collaborating on high-impact projects to uplift Python and ML expertise. Provide hands-on guidance and servant leadership to empower teams in owning and operating platform products supporting Python and ML.
• Drive innovation in Python and ML engineering practices and development experience, contributing to the development of a unified and resilient infrastructure.

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 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.