Staff Software Engineer - Infra - Core Infrastructure

Canva; United States; Remote; USD 130,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Canva is seeking a seasoned infrastructure engineer to lead technical projects that shape scalable cloud solutions. This role focuses on mentoring a team and driving operational excellence. With flexible working options, this position offers a chance to enhance developer experiences while supporting a culture of innovation and inclusivity.

Benefits

Equity packages

Inclusive parental leave policy

Annual Vibe & Thrive allowance

Flexible leave options

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in software engineering with cloud platforms.
• Hands-on experience with Go, Python, or Java.
• Experience in leading large-scale infrastructure projects.

Responsibilities

• Providing technical leadership across high-impact infrastructure projects.
• Defining architectural direction for core platform services.
• Mentoring a distributed team of engineers.

Skills

Infrastructure as Code

Cloud platforms

Mentorship

Automation

Site reliability

Tools

Kubernetes

AWS

GCP

Job description

Join the team redefining how the world experiences design.

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

Our flagship campus is in Sydney. We also have a campus in Melbourne and co-working spaces in Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. But you have choice in where and how you work, we trust our Canvanauts to choose the balance that empowers them and their team to achieve their goals.

What you’d be doing in this role

As Canva scales change continues to be part of our DNA. But we like to think that's all part of the fun. So this will give you the flavour of the type of things you'll be working on when you start, but this will likely evolve.

At the moment, this role is focused on:

• Providing technical leadership across high-impact infrastructure projects, shaping robust cloud-native solutions that enable engineering speed and team autonomy
• Defining architectural direction for core platform services, with a focus on scalability, reliability, and developer experience
• Mentoring and empowering a distributed team of engineers, creating a collaborative environment where innovation thrives
• Shaping the strategic roadmap for Platform Enablement by identifying and driving long-term initiatives
• Championing operational excellence, ensuring that Canva’s platform continues to be reliable, secure, and efficient
• Contributing to technical hiring and fostering a culture of continuous learning and high standards

You're probably a match if

• You bring 7+ years of experience in software engineering, with a strong foundation in infrastructure, cloud platforms (AWS required, GCP nice-to-have), and distributed systems
• You have deep hands-on experience with Go, Python, or Java and enjoy designing complex systems
• You’ve led large-scale infrastructure projects and influenced cross-functional engineering strategy
• You’re passionate about Infrastructure as Code, Kubernetes, CI/CD, automation, and site reliability
• You thrive in mentorship roles—guiding teams and uplifting technical practices
• You lead with a no-blame mentality and are deeply aligned with Canva’s engineering and cultural values

About the team

This role sits within the Core Infrastructure Group—a team on a mission to reduce the complexity burden of using the cloud. We build foundational infrastructure that powers Canva’s global scale.

The Platform Enablement team creates seamless developer experiences that allow engineers to ship fast and reliably, abstracting away the complexities of cloud infrastructure. Our systems support provisioning, releasing, running, and operating cloud workloads—securely and simply.

We’re the stewards of an extensible ecosystem that prioritises developer delight, operational efficiency, and long-term scalability.

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 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 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.

We celebrate all types of skills and backgrounds at Canva so even if you don’t feel like your skills quite match what’s listed above - we still want to hear from you!

Please note that interviews are conducted virtually.