Senior Backend Engineer (Java) - AI Media Transforms (m/f/x)

Canva; Wien; Vor Ort; EUR 72.000 - 88.000; Vollzeit

Benefits dieser Stelle

Equity packages

Inclusive parental leave policy

Annual Vibe & Thrive allowance

Flexible leave options

Zusammenfassung

Canva is looking for a skilled backend developer based in Vienna to work on innovative AI editing features. The ideal candidate will manage the AI editing serving stack and collaborate with teams to enhance editing capabilities.

You will be part of a small, experienced team dedicated to world-class AI editing using generative techniques. The role requires proficiency in Java and significant experience in high-performance backend systems. Flexible working options and competitive compensation, starting at EUR 80,000, are offered.

Qualifikationen

• Significant experience designing, building, and operating high-performance backend systems.
• Proficient in Java or similar JVM languages (Kotlin, Scala).
• Strong fundamentals in concurrency, distributed systems and performance engineering.
• Experience working alongside ML engineers.
• Track record of leading technical initiatives and architecture decisions.
• Ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly.

Aufgaben

• Build and operate the AI editing serving stack.
• Productionise model work by collaborating with teams.
• Design shared building blocks for reusable libraries.
• Identify bottlenecks and improve performance.
• Partner with teams to deliver editing capabilities.
• Act as backend tech lead and mentor team members.

Kenntnisse

High-performance backend systems

Java or similar JVM language proficiency

Computer Science fundamentals

Experience with ML and PyTorch

Leading technical initiatives

Clear communication skills

Jobbeschreibung

Where and How You Can Work

Our flagship campus is in Sydney, Australia, but Austria hosts part of our European operations. You have the choice in where and how you work, trusting our Canvanauts to balance their goals and their team's needs.

What You’d Be Doing In This Role

As Canva scales, change continues to be part of our DNA. This role will involve working on AI editing features, with responsibilities that may evolve over time.

At the Moment, This Role Is Focused On

• Build and operate the AI editing serving stack, owning backend services for inpainting, outpainting, upscaling, background removal and next‑generation editing capabilities.
• Productionise model work from research by partnering with CORE and Photo AI to turn research‑grade editing models into well‑tested, observable, cost‑aware capabilities.
• Design shared building blocks, building reusable libraries (upscaler, outpainting, depth estimation, segmentation, BG removal) for use by other Canva teams.
• Drive inference performance and cost by identifying bottlenecks and shipping improvements that affect latency and cost per request.
• Partner across teams, working closely with Photo AI, CORE, Inference and consumer teams to deliver editing capabilities.
• Raise the bar on the team by setting technical direction, acting as backend tech lead, contributing to architecture reviews, mentoring MLEs and BEs, and participating in on‑call rotation.

You're Probably a Match If

• You have significant commercial experience designing, building, and operating high‑performance, high‑throughput backend systems in production.
• You have high proficiency in Java or a similar JVM language (Kotlin, Scala). You understand the surrounding ecosystem.
• You have strong computer science fundamentals—concurrency, distributed systems, performance engineering, and design patterns for scale.
• You can work alongside ML engineers and researchers, read PyTorch, reason about GPU memory and inference latency, and advise on model serving.
• You have a track record of leading technical initiatives end‑to‑end, driving architecture decisions, and raising the technical bar on a team.
• You communicate clearly in writing and verbally, making complex technical trade‑offs understandable to product, ML, and infra audiences.

About The Team

The Transforms team sits inside AI Media in the Generative Experience group. The team’s mission is world‑class AI editing as a platform capability—editing existing media using generative techniques, rather than generating from scratch. We partner closely with Photo AI, CORE, and Inference, delivering capabilities on a shared platform for reuse by other Canva teams. The team is small and senior, based in Vienna and recently formed from Canva’s Photo AI engineers.

What's in It for You

• Equity packages.
• Inclusive parental leave policy that supports all parents and carers.
• An annual Vibe & Thrive allowance to support wellbeing, social connection, office setup and more.
• Flexible leave options that empower you to recharge and support your personal life.

Benefits and Compensation

The starting salary for this position is EUR 80,000. Compensation is market informed, internally equitable and competitively paid.

Legal EEO Statement

We celebrate all types of skills and backgrounds at Canva. We value fairness and strive to provide competitive, market‑informed compensation while ensuring internal equity within the team and region. We make hiring decisions based on skills, experience, and overall assessment.