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Jun 14, 2023

Staff Software Engineer - Server Platform - Backend

  • Canva
  • Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Information Technology

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. That means if you want to do your thing in the office (if you're near one), at home or a bit of both, it's up to you. 


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:

You're probably a match if

  • Ten-plus (10+) years of commercial experience developing sophisticated distributed web applications on the JVM; experience writing Java (experience with other JVM languages such as Scala, Kotlin, etc is a huge plus - however, we primarily use Java 17)
  • Experience with planning, implementing architectural changes, and a creative and conceptual problem-solving approach as opposed to a framework or library focused.
  • Outstanding communication and teamwork skills, both written and verbal.
  • Facilitating collaboration and fostering a positive working relationship between stakeholders and engineers, promoting a culture of trust, respect, and open communication.
  • Experience with guiding and mentoring software engineers, unblocking technical challenges and being an all-around role model.
  • Skilled in asynchronous or reactive programming techniques and associated patterns
  • Deep knowledge of computer science and engineering fundamentals: concurrency, data structures, and distributed systems. And an understanding of resiliency techniques and patterns - load balancing, throttling, back pressure, circuit breaking, etc.
  • Experience working in large distributed cloud environments (ideally AWS)
  • Experience working with
  • Knowledge of networking protocols such as TCP, HTTP 2, protobuf, and RPC Frameworks, Finagle, Thrift or gRPC will be a huge plus
About the team
The Server Platform team's mission is to provide the tools and libraries to scale the reliability of Canva’s backend services. We are responsible for client & server components that all our backend services use to communicate with each other, which directly affects the performance and reliability of those services. On top of the communication layer, the team is responsible for code generation, automatic compatibility checks and data classification enforcements. We are currently facing exciting challenges to uplift platform capabilities to prepare Canva for 1 Billion monthly active users in 2026.

About the Role
This role sits within the Server Platform Team. As a versatile staff software engineer, you will be responsible for crafting the vision of service communication in our platform. We are part of API Platform and our mission is to empower engineers to build efficient, reliable and secure traffic flow for billions of users.

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, 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.

Please note that interviews are conducted virtually. 
Canva
About Canva

Launched in 2013, Canva is an online visual communications platform on a huge and ambitious mission to empower the whole world to design and unlock their creativity. Join our team and be part of something big, where it's not just about Canva’s growth, it’s about yours.

Today, more than 55 million people across 190 countries use Canva to create everything from presentations to social media posts, t-shirts, videos, posters and a whole lot more. We’re committed to creating a diverse library of content that represents the unique and vibrant world around us through our Diverse creator fund.

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