Engineering Manager (BE) - AI Media Platform
As Canva continues to scale, the company is investing heavily in Generative AI to enhance its design platform. The Engineering Manager (BE) - AI Media Platform role is pivotal in leading the development of backend services that power AI-generated media, including images, videos, and audio, for millions of users worldwide. This position offers the opportunity to shape the systems that deliver innovative AI experiences at scale.
The primary responsibilities include leading a team of backend engineers to build and maintain core services for generative media, driving model integration and vendor orchestration to onboard new AI capabilities efficiently, and optimizing cost, latency, and performance across multi-modal AI systems. The role also involves close collaboration with Applied Machine Learning, product, and platform teams to deliver scalable AI solutions, as well as coaching and growing the engineering team to build a high-performing unit with strong platform and ML infrastructure expertise.
Candidates should have experience leading engineering teams while remaining involved in technical decision-making within complex systems. A background in developing scalable backend platforms, particularly those supporting machine learning products, inference systems, or vendor integrations, is essential. Strong foundations in distributed systems, system design, and performance optimization are required. The role demands comfort with navigating ambiguity, balancing innovation with delivery in fast-paced environments, and the ability to connect technical decisions to business impact while influencing across teams.
Canva offers a range of benefits, including equity packages to share in the company's success, an inclusive parental leave policy supporting all parents and carers, an annual Vibe & Thrive allowance to support wellbeing, social connection, and office setup, and flexible leave options that empower employees to recharge and support personal needs. The company fosters a collaborative and innovative culture, providing growth opportunities and the chance to work at the forefront of generative AI, shaping platform capabilities at scale.