Senior Frontend Engineer (Graphics & WebGL) - Photo AI

Location: Team Engineering

Team: Country Prague / Czechia

About the Role

Join the team redefining how the world experiences design at Canva's Photo AI group in Prague. As a Senior Frontend Engineer (Graphics & WebGL), you'll lead the creation of cutting-edge, AI-assisted image editing effects that empower millions of users to unleash their creativity. Dive into complex performance challenges, optimizing WebGL rendering and state management to deliver intuitive, powerful tools within Canva's Photo Editor. Collaborate closely with designers, product managers, backend, and ML engineers in a cross-functional team that owns end-to-end photo editing experiences, pushing the boundaries of Visual AI innovation. Canva's design-focused culture thrives on bold goals, collaborative problem-solving, and magical user moments. You'll work with modern web technologies like TypeScript, React, MobX, WebGPU, and WebAssembly to build seamless components that integrate effortlessly into our platform. Mentor teammates, establish best practices for photo editing UI, and drive technical decisions that align with Canva's mission to democratize design. In our hybrid Prague environment, you'll balance deep focus with team connectivity, contributing to features that make a lasting impact on users' creative journeys. We're looking for engineers passionate about graphics performance, image technologies, and scalable frontend architecture. If you excel in real-time interactions, undo/redo systems, and translating design visions into code, you'll thrive here. Canva celebrates diverse skills and backgrounds—bring your unique perspective to help us invent novel solutions for hard image processing challenges. Check lifeatcanva.com to see how we weave fun, growth, and equity into every role.

Key Responsibilities

• Solve complex performance challenges by optimizing WebGL rendering, state management, and user interactions for AI-assisted image editing effects
• Integrate cutting-edge photo editing effects seamlessly into Canva's Photo Editor
• Collaborate with design and product teams to translate UX requirements into intuitive, powerful technical solutions
• Build performant Frontend components using advanced TypeScript patterns and WebGL for custom rendering
• Contribute to the broader photo editing ecosystem with reusable, scalable components
• Mentor and collaborate with engineers, sharing knowledge on complex frontend patterns and best practices
• Drive technical alignment by communicating frontend decisions to stakeholders and participating in architectural discussions
• Work cross-functionally with Backend, ML engineers, Product Managers, and Designers to own end-to-end photo editing experiences
• Push boundaries of Visual AI to position Canva as a leader in photo editing innovation
• Implement capabilities used by millions of monthly users, focusing on impact and quality delivery

Required Qualifications

• Strong commercial experience building complex frontend applications using modern JavaScript/TypeScript and React
• Hands-on experience with image and media technologies including Canvas/WebGL rendering and creative tools
• Deep understanding of performance optimization techniques for rendering, memory management, and real-time interactions
• Proven experience with complex UI state management systems including undo/redo, real-time updates, and multi-view consistency
• Solid computer science fundamentals in data structures, algorithms, and scalable software architecture
• Experience working across technologies like MobX, WebGL, WebGPU, WebAssembly, and web workers
• Ability to collaborate effectively with designers, product managers, and engineers to deliver cohesive user experiences

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience mentoring junior engineers and establishing frontend best practices
• Background in AI-assisted image editing or photo manipulation tools
• Familiarity with Canva's design ecosystem or similar creative platforms
• Proven track record driving technical alignment across cross-functional teams
• Experience contributing to high-scale applications used by millions of users

Required Skills

• JavaScript/TypeScript expertise
• React advanced patterns
• WebGL rendering optimization
• Canvas 2D/3D manipulation
• Performance profiling and optimization
• State management (MobX or similar)
• WebGPU and WebAssembly
• Web workers for heavy computations
• UI/UX collaboration
• Undo/redo implementation
• Real-time interaction handling
• Data structures and algorithms
• Scalable architecture design
• Cross-team communication
• Creative tools experience
• Memory management techniques
• Type-safe development practices
• Mentoring and knowledge sharing

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 work model in Prague with trust in how you balance work
• Part of a collaborative, innovative culture redefining design experiences
• Opportunities for growth in a high-impact Photo AI team
• Virtual interview process with reasonable adjustments available

Canva is an equal opportunity employer.