Senior Technical Program Manager - AI Research

Location: Team Engineering

Team: Country Beijing / China

About the Role

At Canva, we're on a mission to empower the world to design, and our Beijing Engineering team is at the heart of our AI innovation. As a Senior Technical Program Manager - AI Research, you'll support our China AI Research and Video Teams, driving the smooth execution of complex, multi-team programs that power our design-first products. In this hands-on role, you'll monitor delivery across high-growth initiatives, manage risks and dependencies, and partner with engineering leads to shape milestones, prioritize efforts, and ensure sustainable velocity. You'll foster a culture of excellence and psychological safety, helping diverse teams collaborate seamlessly in our fast-paced, innovative environment. You'll thrive by promoting accountability, facilitating transparent decision-making, and building cross-functional partnerships to align on Canva's biggest AI priorities. From capacity planning to continual improvement rituals, you'll ensure consistency in practices that scale our engineering excellence while navigating ambiguity with strategic insight and tactical execution. Your influence will shape how we deliver cutting-edge AI capabilities that make design accessible to everyone. Join our collaborative Beijing hub – a space designed for connection with daily meals, endless snacks, and easy Zoom links to our Sydney HQ. If you love tackling complex problems, leading through influence, and growing your TPM craft in a design-obsessed culture, this is your chance to make a global impact at Canva.

Key Responsibilities

• Monitor and track delivery status across multiple teams and projects supporting China AI Research and Video Teams
• Promote accountability towards sustainable program delivery and engineering excellence
• Support engineering leads in goal planning, milestone shaping, prioritization, estimations, and capacity planning
• Manage open issues, assess program risks, and resolve dependencies across teams
• Facilitate effective, timely, and transparent decision-making practices
• Ensure consistency in planning, documentation, and core practices to scale team velocity at Canva
• Drive continual improvement rituals to enhance product development and engineering effectiveness
• Build partnerships with cross-functional teams to influence decisions and drive alignment
• Partner with Group Leadership to deliver Canva’s highest priority, complex, multi-disciplinary AI initiatives
• Foster a culture of excellence, innovation, and psychological safety in diverse teams

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years TPM experience at a SaaS company
• Experience working in AI/LLM related domain (e.g., large language model infrastructure, GPU understanding, first-party vs third-party models)
• Deep understanding of Agile product development methodologies
• Knowledgeable in technical concepts, systems, and practices
• Experience collaborating with Product Managers, Designers, and Engineers to deliver key initiatives
• Demonstrated leadership capability to ensure clarity, alignment, and accountability
• Comfortable navigating ambiguity in a fast-paced environment with shifting priorities

Preferred Qualifications

• Specific experience in AI Research
• Proven track record supporting engineering teams in high-growth product areas like video and AI
• Experience in capacity planning, milestone scoping, and risk management for multi-team programs
• Background in fostering psychologically safe, inclusive team environments
• Hands-on experience driving strategic initiatives at scale in a collaborative design company

Required Skills

• AI/LLM domain expertise (large language models, GPU infrastructure)
• Agile methodologies mastery
• Technical systems and practices knowledge
• Program risk assessment and mitigation
• Cross-team dependency management
• Milestone scoping and capacity planning
• Stakeholder influence without authority
• Ambiguity navigation in fast-paced settings
• Transparent communication and decision facilitation
• Process orientation with flexibility
• Inclusive team collaboration leadership
• Strategic thinking with hands-on execution
• Continual improvement facilitation
• Partnership building across functions
• Velocity scaling practices

Benefits

• Work from our vibrant Beijing hub with delicious daily breakfast and lunch provided
• Unlimited snacks, tea, and biscuits to fuel collaboration with global teams via Zoom
• Flexible onsite environment designed for connection and creativity
• Join a design-first culture redefining how the world experiences visual communication
• Opportunities for personal growth and craft improvement in a fast-scaling tech company
• Inclusive, psychologically safe environment celebrating diverse perspectives
• Part of Canva's mission to empower everyone to design, with global impact
• Competitive compensation and comprehensive health/wellness benefits

Canva is an equal opportunity employer.