Senior Product Manager - AI Research

Location: Team Product Management

Team: Country Sydney / Australia

About the Role

Join the team redefining how the world experiences design. At Canva, we're at the forefront of making AI research tangible and impactful for millions of users worldwide. As a Senior Product Manager in CORE AI Research (Canva Original Research & Exploration), you'll be the critical bridge between cutting-edge AI research and real-world product applications that empower creativity. We transform breakthrough research in generative AI into features that democratize design for everyone. Your role is essential to Canva's mission - guiding our world-class research team toward innovations that solve genuine design challenges while building the foundation for tomorrow's creative tools, all within our collaborative, design-focused culture in Sydney, Australia. You'll bring product empathy to research projects, clarifying use cases and ensuring outputs solve real design challenges. Translate complex research into prototypes and strategic communication that bridges technical depth with business impact. Collaborate with researchers on prioritization, design evaluation methodologies, and thoughtful AI model launches within Canva's ecosystem. Facilitate communication across teams and contribute to portfolio-level prioritization, ensuring research aligns with our most critical user and business needs. You're a match if you have 5+ years in product management with 2+ years in AI/ML, direct experience shipping research-based features, strong AI technical understanding, visual content expertise, and the ability to thrive in ambiguous environments. Thrive at the intersection of technical depth and user-centered thinking, excited to make AI research accessible and impactful in a fun, innovative culture that trusts Canvanauts to balance onsite work with flexibility across our Sydney flagship and other Australian hubs.

Key Responsibilities

• Bridge cutting-edge AI research with real-world product applications that empower creativity
• Bring product empathy to research projects, clarifying use cases and ensuring solutions address real design challenges
• Translate complex research into tangible product opportunities via prototypes, workshops, and strategic communication
• Collaborate with researchers to prioritize capabilities, balancing quality, speed, functionality, and user experience
• Design evaluation methodologies and gather expert input to validate research outputs
• Support thoughtful launches of AI models, considering strengths, limitations, and ecosystem integration
• Facilitate communication between CORE research teams and broader Canva product organization
• Contribute to portfolio-level research project prioritization aligned with user and business needs
• Guide world-class research team toward innovations that democratize design for millions
• Navigate ambiguity to drive projects from ideation through product handover

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of product management experience with at least 2 years focused on AI/ML products
• Direct experience taking research-based AI features from concept to production
• Strong understanding of AI/ML technology including architectures of language and image models
• Experience creating or managing visual content with domain expertise in design tools or creative workflows
• Track record of shipping technical products that users love
• Ability to make technical product decisions in ambiguous research environments
• Exceptional communication and collaboration skills across technical and business teams

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience reading and interpreting AI research papers to form technical opinions
• Background in graphic design, visual communication, or creative industries
• Proven success prioritizing research projects at portfolio level
• Familiarity with generative AI models for images, video, or 3D
• Experience designing evaluation methodologies for AI research outputs

Required Skills

• AI/ML product management
• Generative AI research translation
• Technical depth in language and image model architectures
• Visual content creation and design expertise
• User-centered product thinking
• Ambiguity navigation and decision-making
• Research paper analysis and technical opinion formation
• Prototype development and workshops
• Cross-functional collaboration (research, engineering, design)
• Strategic prioritization and trade-off analysis
• Evaluation methodology design
• Communication bridging technical and business stakeholders
• Creative workflow understanding
• Product lifecycle management from ideation to launch

Benefits

• Equity packages to share in Canva's success
• Flexible work options across Sydney flagship campus, Melbourne, or co-working spaces
• Moments of magic, connectivity, and fun woven throughout Canva life
• Delightful parental leave policy and 'Canva birthday' leave
• Fun events and weekly rides to the beach in Sydney
• Learning and development allowance and 'Magic Shop' budget
• Health and wellness programs including gym membership subsidies
• Generous superannuation contributions and novated leasing

Canva is an equal opportunity employer.