Research Lead - Evaluations

Location: Team Engineering

Team: Country Vienna / Austria

About the Role

As Canva grows, so does the impact and opportunity of our AI-powered features. We're looking for a Research Lead - Evaluations to coach a team of world-class scientists, build on our foundational model roadmap, and turn academic breakthroughs into delightful design experiences. If you thrive in bridging deep research with practical application, love helping others grow, and are passionate about solving hard technical problems in a collaborative, design-focused culture—this role in our Vienna Engineering team is for you. In this hands-on leadership position, you'll lead and grow a high-performing team of research scientists advancing AI at scale. You'll own the evaluation strategy, designing robust frameworks for quality, safety, red-teaming, and competitive benchmarking to ensure enterprise readiness and user delight. Setting research direction aligned with Canva's innovative product goals, you'll guide foundational model development while partnering cross-functionally to embed cutting-edge AI into our creative platform. You'll champion scientific excellence alongside scalable impact, representing Canva in the global AI community through publications and talks. Our collaborative environment values strategic thinking, clear communication, and a passion for continuous learning, all while fostering a culture of magic, connectivity, and fun. Join us in Vienna's hybrid setting to redefine how the world experiences AI-powered design.

Key Responsibilities

• Coach and mentor a high-performing team of research scientists and machine learning engineers
• Own the evaluation strategy by designing and running robust frameworks for quality, safety, red-teaming, and competitive benchmarking
• Set strategic research direction aligned with Canva's AI and product goals
• Guide technical direction across foundational model development, experimentation, and evaluation
• Partner cross-functionally to translate research breakthroughs into delightful product experiences
• Champion scientific excellence while ensuring scalable impact across Canva's design platform
• Represent Canva in the global AI community through publications, talks, and open-source contributions
• Build and grow the research team focused on advancing AI-powered design features
• Bridge deep research with practical application to create magical user experiences
• Stay ahead of research trends to inform Canva's foundational model roadmap

Required Qualifications

• Led research or applied science teams with a proven track record of coaching and delivering impact
• Deep hands-on expertise in training and evaluating generative models including Diffusion Models, GANs, VAEs, and LLMs
• Expert knowledge of GANs, Diffusion Models, VAEs, and Autoregressive Models
• Experience designing robust evaluation frameworks including quality, safety, red-teaming, and competitive benchmarking
• Strong background in creating data-driven evaluation methodologies and turning user analytics into actionable insights
• PhD or equivalent experience in AI/ML, Computer Science, or related field
• Demonstrated ability to set strategic research direction aligned with product goals
• Track record of publications, talks, or open-source contributions in the AI community

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working in design-focused AI products or creative applications
• Background in scaling AI research to production environments
• Familiarity with Canva's design platform or similar creative tools
• Experience partnering cross-functionally with product and engineering teams
• Knowledge of enterprise AI safety and compliance standards
• Mentoring experience with research scientists and ML engineers

Required Skills

• Leadership of AI research teams
• Generative AI model training (Diffusion, GANs, VAEs, LLMs)
• Evaluation framework design (quality, safety, red-teaming)
• Strategic research planning
• Cross-functional collaboration
• Technical coaching and mentoring
• Data-driven decision making
• Scientific rigor in problem-solving
• Clear communication with technical and non-technical audiences
• Continuous learning and research trend awareness
• Autoregressive model expertise
• Competitive AI benchmarking
• User analytics interpretation
• Production-scale AI deployment
• Creative AI application experience
• Publication and conference presentation skills

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 home office setup
• Flexible leave options empowering personal recharge and growth
• Hybrid work model in Vienna, Austria with collaborative team environment
• Access to Canva's flagship Sydney campus and global operations
• Opportunities to work on cutting-edge AI for design innovation
• Rich culture of connectivity, fun, and moments of magic
• Learning stipend and continuous development opportunities

Canva is an equal opportunity employer.