Senior Machine Learning Engineer - International - Mandarin speaking preferred (open to remote across ANZ)

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:

• Evaluating, integrating, and improving local AI models and services (e.g., LLMs, image/video generation models, Rec System) to align with Canva’s product needs in China.

• Leading fine-tuning and prompt engineering of models using localized datasets and usage signals.

• Building robust data pipelines and model-serving infrastructure to support scalable deployment of AI systems in a region-compliant environment.

• Collaborating with global and local teams across ML, product, infra, legal, and compliance to ensure alignment with user needs and local regulations.

• Designing and executing rigorous offline evaluation and online experimentation strategies for model performance and user impact.

• Contributing to roadmap planning, prioritization, and technical decision-making within the Product Enablement and broader AI teams.

• Mentoring engineers and promoting best practices in machine learning and model operations.

You're probably a match if:

• You have solid experience in ML/software engineering, preferably within Product/SaaS.

• You possess proven experience in designing and deploying production-ready ML systems, including LLMs, search, recommendation, or generative AI.

• You have strong coding and software engineering skills in Python (and optionally Java), with hands-on experience using ML frameworks like PyTorch, TensorFlow, Hugging Face, or similar.

• You are highly preferred if you have experience working with or evaluating Chinese AI models, vendors, or datasets.

• You have a solid understanding of modern ML practices, including fine-tuning, prompt engineering, data curation, model evaluation, and experimentation.

• You demonstrate strong communication and collaboration skills, capable of working across global teams, legal and privacy stakeholders, and local vendors.

• You have experience with cloud platforms and ML model infrastructure, such as containerization, GPU serving, and monitoring, which is a bonus.

• You have a product mindset and an eagerness to solve real user problems with AI solutions.

About the team

You’ll join the Product Enablement Team, part of the International Supergroup, which is focused on accelerating Canva’s growth and feature adoption in priority international markets. The team partners closely with Global AI, Search, and Recommendations teams to bring cutting-edge capabilities to local markets with the right technical customizations and data insights.

In particular, this role will focus on enhancing Search and Recommendation and AI Magic experiences in China, adapting algorithms to local content trends, user behaviors, and regulatory requirements. The team works on local model fine-tuning, data signal enhancements, and experimentation to deliver measurable impact.

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 support you personally

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!

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.