Principal Software Engineer - Video - Design Experience - (Open to Bay area or ANZ, relocation provided to ANZ)

Location: Team Engineering

Team: Country New York / United States

About the Role

Join the team redefining how the world experiences video creation at Canva, the world's leading visual communication platform. As a Principal Software Engineer - Video - Design Experience, you'll be the technical visionary leading our Video group's mission to democratize professional-quality video creation for millions of users worldwide, from everyday creators to global brands. This technically ambitious role sits at the intersection of engineering, creativity, and innovation, where you'll architect scalable rendering systems, pioneer AI-powered features, and push the boundaries of browser-based video technology. Open to exceptional talent in the Bay Area or ANZ (with relocation provided to ANZ), you'll collaborate in our hybrid, design-focused culture that empowers Canvanauts to balance innovation with impact. You'll lead the technical direction for video technology powering millions of daily exports, designing next-gen rendering pipelines, optimizing composition workflows, and embedding AI into every stage of the creative process—from real-time generative tools to smart editing experiences. Partnering with talented engineers, researchers, and designers, you'll solve complex challenges around performance, scalability, and reliability while mentoring teams to uphold Canva's high architectural standards. Your work will transform Canva into an AI-first creative platform, delivering seamless, intuitive video experiences that inspire creativity at scale. At Canva, our collaborative, innovative culture celebrates diverse skills and backgrounds. We're building the future of video in a supportive environment that values work-life harmony, with equity packages, inclusive leave policies, and a Vibe & Thrive allowance to help you flourish. If you have deep expertise in high-performance video systems and a passion for democratizing design tools, join us to create magic for millions.

Key Responsibilities

• Architect and lead Canva’s video technology stack, balancing performance, scalability, and user experience
• Design cutting-edge rendering engines and optimize video composition pipelines
• Drive performance optimizations and solve complex export cost and reliability challenges
• Mentor engineers and establish architectural standards for video technology
• Lead development of innovative features like AI-powered effects and advanced international language support
• Partner with research teams to embed AI/ML into video creation processes
• Build scalable, high-performance rendering systems powering millions of daily exports
• Pioneer next-gen rendering pipelines and cross-platform export engines
• Collaborate with design and product teams to deliver seamless video creation experiences
• Tackle complex problems at the intersection of engineering, creativity, and innovation

Required Qualifications

• Extensive experience building high-performance video and graphics rendering engines
• Deep expertise in video editing, composition, or similar creative software development
• Proven skills in scalable system architecture supporting millions of users
• Track record of technical leadership in video or digital content creation tooling
• Experience with cross-platform development and engine consolidation
• Strong background in performance optimization for real-time rendering systems
• Demonstrated ability to mentor engineering teams and shape architectural standards

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience integrating AI/ML into video creation workflows
• Knowledge of browser-based video processing and WebGL/WebCodecs
• Familiarity with international language support in multimedia applications
• Prior work on export pipelines handling high-volume video rendering
• Contributions to open-source video/graphics projects

Required Skills

• Video rendering engine development
• Graphics programming (WebGL, Canvas, etc.)
• Scalable system architecture
• Performance optimization
• Video composition and editing pipelines
• Cross-platform development
• AI/ML integration for creative tools
• Technical leadership and mentoring
• Browser-based media processing
• Export pipeline engineering
• Real-time video processing
• Collaborative problem-solving
• Innovative thinking in creative tech
• Communication and stakeholder partnership
• Code quality and architectural standards

Benefits

• Equity packages to share in Canva's success
• Inclusive parental leave policies for all parents and carers
• Annual Vibe & Thrive allowance for wellbeing, social connection, and office setup
• Flexible leave options to recharge and thrive
• Hybrid work model with choice in location (Bay Area, ANZ, or relocation to ANZ provided)
• Opportunities to work on world-class creative tools used by millions globally
• Collaborative culture fostering innovation and creativity
• Virtual interviews and inclusive hiring process

Canva is an equal opportunity employer.