Senior Research Scientist

Senior Research Scientist - Generative AI Overview At Canva, we're building a future powered by AI that's as magical as it is impactful. As a Senior Research Scientist, you'll contribute to that future by advancing foundational models and conducting research that delivers practical, scalable impact. This role combines hands-on model development with collaborative research — from exploring new architectures to supporting product direction through scientific insights.
You'll work at the intersection of innovation and impact, contributing to our AI research agenda and helping ensure our work reaches millions of users around the world.
What You'll Do Contribute to research projects that support the development of foundational models across Canva's AI domains
Design and run experiments to test hypotheses, improve model behavior, and assess real-world performance
Translate theoretical research and academic papers into robust, production-ready implementations with guidance
Help develop and refine model architectures and training methodologies to improve outcomes
Collaborate closely with ML Engineers to scale models and integrate them into Canva's product ecosystem
Stay up to date with emerging trends, technologies, and open challenges to inform our research direction
Share your knowledge internally through documentation and cross-team collaborations, and externally through papers or talks where appropriate
Who You Are You're someone who enjoys working in a dynamic environment, connecting research with product application, and has demonstrated scientific and technical skills. You can balance long-term thinking with practical delivery, and you're eager to learn from and collaborate with others.
What You'll Bring Solid expertise in machine learning, particularly in areas like LLMs, vision-language models, generative AI, or multi-modal systems
A publication record or evidence of research impact in academia or industry
Experience contributing to research projects from problem formulation through to deployment, with support from more senior team members
Ability to turn complex theoretical ideas into tangible solutions, and evaluate them rigorously
A collaborative mindset — you work well with engineers, product teams, and other researchers
What You'll Learn And How You'll Grow Involvement in Canva's AI strategy and foundational model development
Opportunities to learn from and collaborate with experienced researchers
Exposure to product impact at a global scale (hundreds of millions of users)
Dedicated time for self-driven research exploration and experimentation
Additional Information 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 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. We see AI as a powerful amplifier of creativity and technology at Canva. We're evolving how we assess AI skills in our Technology hiring experience - you'll tackle interactive, real-time challenges that reflect the kind of work we do. In some interviews, you may also be asked to solve a problem using an AI tool to show how you approach challenges with tech by your side.
Please note that interviews are conducted virtually.
Seniority level Mid-Senior level
Employment type Full-time
Job function Information Technology
Industries Software Development
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