Engineering Manager (BE) - Core Media (ANZ Remote)

Location: Team Engineering

Team: Country Brisbane / Australia

About the Role

Join Canva's Media Platform team as an Engineering Manager (BE) - Core Media (ANZ Remote), where you'll lead a high-performing squad of 4-6 backend engineers building the foundational infrastructure that powers every design on our platform. Managing petabytes of media assets and serving billions to millions of global users, you'll balance strategic initiatives with urgent product needs, contribute to cutting-edge architecture, and solve the distributed systems challenges that make Canva's visual magic possible. In this hybrid role based in Brisbane/Australia with ANZ remote flexibility, you'll champion engineering excellence, partner cross-functionally, and shape the platform for our next billion users—all while thriving in Canva's collaborative, innovative culture that celebrates creativity and bold ideas. You'll thrive if you've led backend platform teams through high-growth phases, coached senior engineers, and tackled complex scaling problems with strategic clarity. Deep expertise in distributed systems, strong communication bridging technical depth with business context, and a passion for navigating ambiguity are key. Our Media Platform team is at the heart of Canva's design revolution, and as a leader here, you'll energize your team around massive opportunities, foster velocity, and advocate for what it takes to scale creatively and reliably. At Canva, we weave moments of magic, connectivity, and fun into our pursuit of crazy big goals. Enjoy equity packages, inclusive parental leave, Vibe & Thrive allowances, flexible options, and the freedom to work hybrid/remote across ANZ locations. We're building a diverse, inclusive team—share your pronouns, request adjustments, and apply even if you don't match every bullet. Interviews are virtual. Help redefine how the world experiences design. G'day from the Canva crew!

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and grow a high-performing team of 4-6 backend engineers in the Media Platform group
• Balance strategic platform initiatives with high-volume product feature requests across Canva
• Contribute to architectural decisions and solve complex distributed systems challenges
• Partner with cross-functional teams to align roadmaps and accelerate feature delivery
• Champion engineering excellence and improve operational health for scalable systems
• Create clarity by translating big-picture strategy into actionable milestones and metrics
• Advocate for team needs while shaping Media Platform to support billions of users
• Foster a collaborative, innovative culture aligned with Canva's design-focused mission
• Drive team velocity and energize engineers around complex scaling challenges
• Mentor engineers at all levels, particularly senior contributors
• Monitor and optimize media infrastructure handling petabytes of assets for millions of users

Required Qualifications

• Experience leading backend platform teams of 4-6 engineers, including coaching senior engineers
• Deep expertise in backend development and distributed systems at scale
• Proven track record in high-growth environments managing competing priorities
• Strong experience contributing to architectural decisions for complex systems
• Demonstrated ability to translate strategic vision into actionable milestones and metrics
• History of partnering cross-functionally to align roadmaps and accelerate delivery
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience
• 5+ years in engineering management or technical leadership roles

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience scaling media or asset management platforms handling petabytes of data
• Familiarity with cloud infrastructure and serving billions of assets globally
• Background in design tools or creative software ecosystems
• Experience improving operational health and engineering excellence at scale
• Previous work in ANZ region or remote-first engineering teams
• Mentorship experience growing high-performing engineering teams

Required Skills

• Backend engineering expertise
• Distributed systems design
• Scalable platform architecture
• Team leadership and coaching
• Strategic problem-solving
• Cross-functional collaboration
• Technical communication
• Handling ambiguity and priorities
• Engineering excellence practices
• Operational health optimization
• Roadmap alignment
• Metrics-driven decision making
• Mentoring senior engineers
• High-growth environment navigation
• Cloud-based media infrastructure
• Petabyte-scale data management
• Innovative thinking
• Design-tool ecosystem understanding

Benefits

• Equity packages to share in Canva's success
• Inclusive parental leave policy supporting all parents and carers
• Annual Vibe & Thrive allowance for wellbeing, social connection, and office setup
• Flexible leave options to recharge and support personal needs
• Hybrid/ANZ remote work flexibility across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and beyond
• Access to flagship campuses and co-working spaces in Australia and New Zealand
• Virtual interview process with reasonable adjustments available
• Rich culture of magic, connectivity, and fun woven into daily work
• Opportunities to join a team redefining how the world experiences design

Canva is an equal opportunity employer.