Engineering Manager - Design System Experience

Summary

Join Canva's Design System Experience team and lead a team of 6+ engineers in building a world-class design system. You will define the team's goals and roadmap, drive strategic exploration of opportunities, ensure team well-being, and provide technical direction and mentorship. The role involves conducting regular 1:1s, setting priorities, developing growth plans, refining team processes, and reviewing PRs and design docs. Canva offers flexible work arrangements, allowing you to work from the office, home, or a combination of both. The ideal candidate possesses people leadership experience, design system experience, and a strong product mindset. This is a growth opportunity for someone passionate about engineering leadership, platform strategy, and empowering users.

Requirements

• People leadership experience providing constructive feedback to others and supporting other engineers to reach their goals
• Working with a design system or maintaining components other teams depend on, but an interest in the problem space goes a long way
• Curiosity about how AI can improve developer and design workflows
• A strong product mindset — ability to identify user problems and champion pragmatic, high-impact solutions
• Experience developing rich web applications, ideally Typescript/React/MobX
• Practical knowledge of data structures and algorithms

Responsibilities

• Leading a cross-functional team to make the design system more intuitive, empowering, and efficient for everyone who builds with it
• Defining the goals and technical roadmap for the team, informed by consumer needs and in collaboration with the team and stakeholders
• Driving thoughtful exploration of strategic opportunities — including ways the design system can support new AI-powered workflows
• Ensuring the team is happy and healthy, as well as high-functioning and impactful, to best deliver on goals
• Conducting regular 1:1s to provide technical direction, mentorship, actionable feedback
• Setting priorities for and supporting coachees with execution
• Developing growth plans for engineers on the team
• Refining team processes to ensure effective and sustainable delivery
• Reviewing PRs and design docs from the team, and may also contribute code towards delivery

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience successfully advocating for goals and driving significant technical changes through leading others and as an individual contributor
• Experience in stakeholder communication or internal advocacy
• Experience writing accessible code and reading detailed specifications (WCAG 2.2 AA)
• Cross-browser and cross-device development

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