Senior Software Engineer - Automation, remote across ANZ

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:

• Discover automation opportunities: Work embedded with business teams to understand their workflows, spot inefficiencies, and identify high-impact opportunities for intelligent automation

• Build end-to-end solutions: Design, develop, test, and deploy complete solutions using automation and AI orchestration platforms and also using Python, Node.js, cloud services, and AI technologies. You own the full lifecycle from requirements through production operation

• Leverage and extend automation platforms: Build sophisticated workflows using n8n, Workato and CrewAI, create custom integrations, and develop reusable components that become part of our automation platform

• Integrate AI capabilities: Incorporate AI agents, language models, and intelligent decision-making into your automations to handle complex, previously human-only tasks

• Write scalable, maintainable code: Apply strong software engineering fundamentals to ensure your solutions are secure, performant, well-tested, and follow Canva engineering principles

• Contribute to platform capabilities: Build connectors, recipes, libraries, and tools that extend what's possible on our automation platform and enable other builders

• Collaborate across boundaries: Partner with business analysts, product managers, domain experts, and other engineers to scope problems, validate solutions, and drive adoption

• Document and share: Create clear documentation for the solutions you build and the patterns you discover, making it easy for others to learn and build on your work

• Support and iterate: Monitor your automations in production, respond to issues, and continuously improve based on real-world usage and feedback

You're probably a match if

A strong technical foundation

• You’ve built scalable systems and have solid grounding in software engineering fundamentals like data structures, algorithms, system design, and architecture.

• You’re confident working with Python to build services, automation, and internal tools - and if you’ve used Node.js, that’s a bonus!

• You’ve worked with REST APIs, RPCs, webhooks, and have experience integrating different systems and transforming data between them.

An AI & automation mindset

• You've used tools like ChatGPT, Claude, or GitHub Copilot in your workflow - and you’re excited about integrating LLMs and AI services into real applications.

• You’re always looking for ways to reduce manual effort, improve speed, and empower others through automation and self-service.

• You don’t just solve the immediate problem - you think about how your solution could be reused and scaled by others.

A collaborative, curious working style

• You’re self-directed and love tackling open-ended problems from start to finish.

• You enjoy switching between different domains and learning new technologies as needed.

• You’re a strong communicator who can explain technical concepts to a range of audiences and collaborate closely with cross-functional teams.

• You care deeply about quality — but you also know when to prioritise progress over perfection.

• You take full ownership of what you build, from deployment to debugging to iterating based on feedback.

Bonus experience

• Familiarity with tools like n8n or Workato.

• A background in consulting or developer advocacy.

• Experience in high-growth environments.

• Exposure to business operations, automation, or process improvement.

• Comfort working with cloud services like AWS or GCP, especially using Terraform for infrastructure-as-code.

About the team

The Technology Experience group is one of Canva's internal platform organisations, responsible for making everyone at Canva more productive and effective. Within this group, teams combined have the mission to transform business operations through automation and/or AI-powered workflows.

Think of us as the "DevOps engineers of business operations." We don't just maintain existing tools; we actively hunt for opportunities to eliminate manual work, accelerate processes, and build platform capabilities that scale. We work across the entire business, partnering most closely with non-eng org like GTM, Marketing, Finance, Sales, Legal and People to understand their workflows and reimagine what's possible with modern automation technology.

Our team operates with a unique embedded model. Engineers join "tiger teams" that work shoulder-to-shoulder with domain experts, understand their problems deeply, then return home to build transformative solutions. We're building on platforms like n8n and Workato, extending Canva's internal tools, and creating reusable components that become part of our growing Intelligent Automation platform.

This isn’t your traditional backend role - it’s engineering with purpose. We’re looking for folks who thrive on ambiguity, love solving real-world problems, and are excited to blur the lines between tech and business.

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 see AI as a powerful amplifier of creativity and technology at Canva. We’re evolving how we assess AI skills in our Technology hiring experience - you’ll tackle interactive, real-time challenges that reflect the kind of work we do. In some interviews, you may also be asked to solve a problem using an AI tool to show how you approach challenges with tech by your side. Your recruitment partner will walk you through what to expect.

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.