Senior Research Engineer - Video Generative AI
at Canva Pty Ltd
Posted 4 hours ago
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- Compensation
- Not specified
- City
- London
- Country
- United Kingdom
Currency: Not specified
Canva is seeking a Senior Research Engineer focused on multimodal generative AI to translate cutting-edge research into practical, production-grade solutions. You will partner with Research Scientists to design and implement innovative model architectures for multimodal design generation, port experimental Python code to scalable pipelines, and build robust CI/CD-ready ML infrastructure. The role involves optimizing models for efficiency and latency across large distributed systems, maintaining high-quality datasets, and collaborating with cross-functional teams to deliver high-impact, technically feasible design tools. Based in Canva's London campus, you’ll help empower Canva users to bring their ideas to life with advanced machine learning capabilities.
Join the team redefining how the world experiences design.
Hello, hey, g'day, mabuhay, kia ora, 你好, hallo, vítejte!
Thanks for stopping by. We know job hunting can be a little time consuming and you're probably keen to find out what's on offer, so we'll get straight to the point.
Where and how you can work
The buzzing Canva London campus features several buildings around beautiful leafy Hoxton Square in Shoreditch. While our global headquarters is in Sydney, Australia, London is our HQ for Europe, with all kinds of teams based here, plus event spaces to gather our team and communities. You’ll experience a warm welcome from our Vibe team at front of house, amazing home cooked food from our Head Chef and a variety of workspaces to hang out with your team mates or get solo work done. That said, we trust our Canvanauts to choose the balance that empowers them and their team to achieve their goals and so you have choice in where and how you work.
About the role:
In your role as Senior Research (Machine Learning) Engineer, you’ll be at the heart of our mission to make advanced machine learning design tools easy for everyone to use. Your work will help create new features that make it simpler and more fun for Canva users to bring their ideas to life. By developing and integrating these cutting-edge technologies, you’ll help us achieve our goal of empowering the world to design. Your contributions will enhance user experiences, drive Canva’s growth, and keep us at the forefront of the design industry. Together, we’ll make a real impact and shape the future of design.
At the moment, this role is focused on:
Partnering with Research Scientists on research in multimodal generative AI, translating theory into practical applications
Porting experimental Python code to scalable, testable, and production-grade solutions, incorporating performance benchmarks and robust testing practices
Designing, developing, and implementing innovative model architectures and algorithms for multimodal design generation
Building sustainable ML pipelines that support continuous integration, deployment, and monitoring of generative models in production environments
Optimizing and scaling models for efficiency, latency, and throughput across large distributed systems
Enhancing and maintaining high-quality datasets and annotations to fuel multimodal learning
Investigating and addressing production incidents through root cause analysis and sustainable fixes
Collaborating closely with cross-functional stakeholders across Canva to build aligned, technically feasible, and high-impact solutions
You’re probably a match if you:
Have deep experience developing generative AI models, including Diffusion Models, GANs, or Transformers, and can speak to their real-world application
Have successfully managed and optimized large-scale distributed training (e.g. across 100s of GPUs) and understand the infrastructure trade-offs
Bring a strong understanding of ML principles and have used frameworks like PyTorch to develop and optimize performant models
Demonstrate solid engineering practices – clean code, rigorous testing, CI/CD workflows, and robust observability in production
Thrive in ambiguity, show end-to-end ownership of complex initiatives, and consistently drive for pragmatic solutions
Communicate clearly, collaborate with kindness, and value knowledge-sharing and co-creation across teams

