Senior Research Engineer - Video Generative AI

Canva; City Of London; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading design platform based in London is seeking a Senior Research (Machine Learning) Engineer to enhance user experience by developing advanced machine-learning tools. The ideal candidate will have deep experience with generative AI models and be proficient in managing large-scale distributed training. This role includes optimizing models and building sustainable ML pipelines, contributing to a creative, dynamic team that values ownership and collaboration.

Benefits

Equity packages

Inclusive parental leave policy

Annual Vibe & Thrive allowance

Flexible leave options

Qualifications

• Deep experience developing generative AI models including Diffusion Models, GANs, or Transformers.
• Strong understanding of ML principles and experience with PyTorch.

Responsibilities

• Partner with Research Scientists on multimodal generative AI research.
• Design and implement innovative model architectures.
• Build sustainable ML pipelines for generative models in production.

Skills

Generative AI models

Large-scale distributed training

Machine Learning principles

Python

Collaboration

Tools

PyTorch

CI/CD workflows

Job description

Company Description

Join the team redefining how the world experiences design.

Hello, 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

The buzzing Canva London campus features several buildings around beautiful leafy Hoxton Square in Shoreditch. While our global headquarters is in Sydney, Australia, London is our HQ for Europe, with all kinds of teams based here, plus event spaces to gather our team and communities. You'll experience a warm welcome from our Vibe team at front of house, amazing home‑cooked food from our Head Chef and a variety of workspaces to hang out with your team‑mates or get solo work done. That said, we trust our Canvanauts to choose the balance that empowers them and their team to achieve their goals and so you have choice in where and how you work.

Job Description

About the role: In your role as Senior Research (Machine Learning) Engineer, you'll be at the heart of our mission to make advanced machine‑learning design tools easy for everyone to use. Your work will help create new features that make it simpler and more fun for Canva users to bring their ideas to life. By developing and integrating these cutting‑edge technologies, you'll help us achieve our goal of empowering the world to design. Your contributions will enhance user experiences, drive Canva's growth, and keep us at the forefront of the design industry. Together, we'll make a real impact and shape the future of design.

At the moment, this role is focused on:

• Partnering with Research Scientists on research in multimodal generative AI, translating theory into practical applications
• Porting experimental Python code to scalable, testable, and production‑grade solutions, incorporating performance benchmarks and robust testing practices
• Designing, developing, and implementing innovative model architectures and algorithms for multimodal design generation
• Building sustainable ML pipelines that support continuous integration, deployment, and monitoring of generative models in production environments
• Optimizing and scaling models for efficiency, latency, and throughput across large distributed systems
• Enhancing and maintaining high‑quality datasets and annotations to fuel multimodal learning
• Investigating and addressing production incidents through root‑cause analysis and sustainable fixes
• Collaborating closely with cross‑functional stakeholders across Canva to build aligned, technically feasible, and high‑impact solutions

You’re probably a match if you:

• Have deep experience developing generative AI models, including Diffusion Models, GANs, or Transformers, and can speak to their real‑world application
• Have successfully managed and optimized large‑scale distributed training (e.g. across 100s of GPUs) and understand the infrastructure trade‑offs
• Bring a strong understanding of ML principles and have used frameworks like PyTorch to develop and optimize performant models
• Demonstrate solid engineering practices — clean code, rigorous testing, CI/CD workflows, and robust observability in production
• Thrive in ambiguity, show end‑to‑end ownership of complex initiatives, and consistently drive for pragmatic solutions
• Communicate clearly, collaborate with kindness, and value knowledge‑sharing and co‑creation across teams

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 stack 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, home office setup & more
• Flexible leave options that empower you to be a force for good, take time to recharge and support 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.

Please note that interviews are predominantly conducted virtually.