Frontend Engineer - Editing APIs

Company Description

Join the team redefining how the world experiences design.

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

Our flagship campus is in Sydney. We also have a campus in Melbourne and co-working spaces in Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, and Auckland, NZ.  However, you have choice in where and how you work. That means if you want to do your thing in the office (if you're near one), at home or a bit of both, it's up to you. 

Job Description

Join the Editing API Team

At Canva, we’re on a mission to empower the world to design, and the Editing API team is at the heart of this revolution. We’re not just building APIs—we’re crafting the foundation that enables our engineering teams and third-party developers to ship cutting-edge editing features with speed, confidence, and innovation.

Think of us as the force multipliers behind Canva’s Editor. Our goal? To supercharge development velocity by providing intuitive, powerful, and scalable APIs that unlock limitless creative possibilities. We enhance the developer experience, streamline the Editor’s architecture, and support a growing ecosystem of third-party integrations—scaling Canva’s impact as we strive to reach 1 billion users worldwide.

We're looking for engineers who thrive in the intersection of systems architecture, API design, and developer experience. If you love solving complex technical problems and have a passion for crafting APIs that accelerate innovation, this is your chance to make a lasting impact.

Why this role?

This role is an exciting opportunity to engineer the backbone of Canva’s Editor, designing and implementing APIs that empower both internal teams and third-party developers to create powerful editing experiences. You’ll be at the forefront of scaling innovation, developing dynamic rendering APIs (think React for Canva) and new widgets that redefine how editing-related features are built.  Every day will bring exciting challenges, from designing high-performance APIs to enabling real-time editing capabilities. Most importantly, you’ll have the opportunity to shape the future of editing, making Canva’s Editor more powerful, flexible, and intuitive than ever before.

Qualifications

What You’ll Do (Responsibilities)

• Architect, develop, and ship scalable solutions – Take ownership of building and deploying robust APIs and SDKs that empower both internal teams and external developers.

• Hands-on development in TypeScript – The majority of your work will be in TypeScript, building performant and maintainable frontend solutions while occasionally working with other languages and environments.

• Collaborate across teams – Work closely with engineering leads, designers, and product managers to deliver seamless editing experiences for millions of users worldwide.

• Advocate for engineering excellence – Share knowledge, champion best practices, and ensure that technical needs are well understood across the team.

• Drive innovation and process improvement – Take initiative in identifying opportunities to optimize workflows, enhance performance, and push the boundaries of what’s possible in Canva’s Editor.

What We’re Looking For

• Proven experience in TypeScript development – A strong background in TypeScript is key, especially in building SDKs, APIs, libraries, or frameworks.

• Familiarity with modern frontend technologies – While TypeScript is our primary language, experience with React, MobX, JavaScript, HTML, and CSS is valuable.

• Strong software engineering fundamentals – Solid understanding of asynchronous programming, data structures, solution design, architecture, and design patterns.

• Performance-focused mindset – Passion for debugging, benchmarking, and optimizing browser performance, with knowledge of browser rendering pipelines, event handling, WebWorkers, WebGL/WebGPU being a plus.

• Collaborative and effective communicator – Ability to work across teams, break down complex projects into manageable tasks, and communicate clearly with technical and non-technical stakeholders.

If you're excited about shaping the future of Canva’s Editor, we’d love to hear from you! 🚀

Additional Information

What's in it for you?

Achieving our crazy big goals motivates us to work hard - and we do - but you'll experience lots of moments of magic, connectivity and fun woven throughout life at Canva, too. We also offer a stack of benefits to set you up for every success in and outside of work.

Here's a taste of what's on offer:

• Equity packages - we want our success to be yours too

• Inclusive parental leave policy that supports all parents & carers

• An annual Vibe & Thrive allowance to support your wellbeing, social connection, office setup & more

• Flexible leave options that empower you to be a force for good, take time to recharge and supports you personally

Check out lifeatcanva.com for more info.

Other stuff to know

We make hiring decisions based on your experience, skills and passion, as well as how you can enhance Canva and our culture. When you apply, please tell us the pronouns you use and any reasonable adjustments you may need during the interview process.

Please note that interviews are conducted virtually.