Senior Backend Engineer

Summary

Join Canva's Ecosystem group as a Backend Engineer and collaborate with engineers, designers, and product managers to design, build, and deploy backend solutions. You will design and develop scalable, reliable, and secure backend services, build tools and APIs for internal teams and third-party developers, and contribute to the team's technical roadmap. The role involves working in a cross-functional team, partnering with stakeholders, improving developer experience, and identifying and addressing technical pain points. You will also contribute to code reviews, mentoring, and knowledge-sharing. This position requires a strong foundation in computer science and software engineering fundamentals, experience with Java, MySQL, and AWS, and the ability to collaborate effectively.

Requirements

• You’re comfortable working within our core technology stack: Java, MySQL, and AWS (including EKS, S3, SQS, SNS), with infrastructure as code using Terraform
• You’re comfortable using AI tools to be more effective in your role (Cursor, Claude, ChatGPT, etc)
• You have a strong foundation in computer science and software engineering fundamentals — including concurrency, multithreading, data structures, system design, and architectural patterns
• You collaborate effectively with teammates and communicate clearly across technical and non-technical audiences
• You’re interested in building platforms that empower third-party developers to create rich experiences within Canva

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with engineers, tech leads, designers, and product managers across Canva to design, build, and deploy backend solutions that power great user experiences
• Design and develop scalable, reliable, and secure backend services — with a focus on performance, maintainability, and operational excellence
• Build tools and APIs for a variety of audiences including internal teams, third-party developers, and Canva users
• Identify and champion opportunities for cross-team collaboration to drive innovation and improvements aligned with our broader goals
• Contribute to the team’s technical roadmap, and help shape its vision and execution
• Work in a cross-functional team to deliver high-quality software — safely, quickly, and at scale
• Partner with stakeholders across the group and wider Canva to ensure alignment and shared success
• Continuously improve the developer experience — from onboarding and documentation to testing, observability, and debugging tools
• Proactively identify and address technical and user experience pain points, balancing short-term needs with long-term sustainability
• Contribute to design and code reviews, mentoring, and knowledge-sharing to help the team grow and improve
• Stay up to date with the latest in backend technologies, architectures, and best practices — and bring fresh ideas into the team
• Grow and thrive in Canva’s supportive, fast-paced, and empowering culture

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 well-being, social connection, office setup & more
• Flexible leave options that empower you to be a force for good, take time to recharge and support you personally