Staff Web Platform Engineer

About This Role

We are looking for a skilled Staff Software Engineer to join our team. As a key member of our engineering organization, you will be responsible for driving product performance improvements by exploring emerging technologies and applying them across key product experiences.

Key Responsibilities

• Drive product performance improvements through the application of emerging technologies.
• Lead architectural efforts around code bundling and delivery, evaluating and evolving our systems to support scale, reduce bottlenecks, and enable engineering velocity.
• Develop tooling and systems that empower engineers with visibility into performance regressions before they reach production – through automated detection and validation workflows.
• Collaborate across multiple teams to lead technically complex, large-scale, ambiguous initiatives – bringing high-level expertise, context sharing, and strategic clarity to drive scalable solutions.
• Shape the future of Canva's web platform, blending product impact with infrastructure evolution to support millions of users while enabling sustainable engineering growth.

Requirements

• Deep experience with core web technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, TypeScript, React, MobX or similar) and backend stacks (Node.js, Java), with a track record of delivering high-quality solutions across the stack.
• A strong grasp of build systems and performance tooling – from bundling and minification to web vitals – and the ability to architect for scale and speed.
• A history of leading end-to-end technical initiatives, influencing not just how features are built, but what gets built and why.
• Proven ability to drive clarity in high-ambiguity spaces, tackling complex or undefined technical problems and aligning multiple teams toward a shared direction.
• Experience operating in large-scale environments – managing cross-functional collaboration, influencing technical roadmaps, and aligning with stakeholders across the org.
• A habit of initiating and scaling cross-team efforts, especially in hybrid product-platform spaces where coordination and strategic thinking are critical.
• A mindset that balances long-term architectural thinking with hands-on execution, including mentoring others through design reviews, spikes, and implementation guidance.
• Practical experience creating and advocating for performance observability systems, embedding performance goals into the developer workflow.
• The ability to translate performance metrics into real user impact – not just what the numbers say, but what they mean for experience and product outcomes.
• A drive to contribute to company-wide goals, particularly in spaces with broad customer impact – such as improving the help experience for millions of users.

Team Information

Our team focuses on driving Canva's web product toward a scalable, high-performance architecture. We partner closely with product teams to build, innovate, and optimize core web capabilities—while also supporting their adoption at scale through education and strategic support.

Current Focus Areas

• Boosting product performance by exploring emerging technologies—such as smarter data loading, server-side rendering, and advanced caching strategies.
• Building systems that enable confident, high-quality, and performance-aware code releases.
• Optimizing our bundling and delivery pipelines to ensure they scale seamlessly with Canva's growing engineering organization.

Benefits

• 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.

About Our Company

We value employee wellness and satisfaction above all else, so we offer a range of benefits designed to promote balance and flexibility in your life.