Staff Software Engineer (API Platform)

TL;DR

Staff Software Engineer (API Platform): Designing and implementing the technical roadmap and architecture for API platforms to scale backend services to billions of users with an accent on service communication, resiliency patterns, and high-performance distributed systems. Focus on architecting critical building blocks, optimizing service performance, and guiding cross-team initiatives for reliability and security.

Location: Hybrid, Melbourne, Australia (must be based in Melbourne)

Company

Canva is a global design platform redefining how the world experiences design.

What you will do

• Define the technical roadmap and architecture for API platforms and critical backend building blocks.
• Establish and evangelize best practices for software architecture, layering, and resiliency patterns through coding and PR reviews.
• Implement intricate system components and author clear design documents to future-proof distributed cloud infrastructure.
• Guide major projects by breaking down tasks and synchronizing engineers across multiple teams.
• Mentor other engineers and provide guidance on technical challenges and professional development.
• Orchestrate cross-team initiatives to set higher standards for reliability, velocity, and security.

Requirements

• 10+ years of commercial experience developing distributed web applications on the JVM using Java.
• Proven experience planning and executing architectural changes for large-scale systems.
• Expertise in asynchronous or reactive programming techniques and associated patterns.
• Deep knowledge of concurrency, data structures, and distributed systems, including resiliency patterns.
• Experience working in large distributed cloud environments, preferably AWS.
• Must be based in Melbourne, Australia

Nice to have

• Experience with RPC frameworks, specifically gRPC.
• Strong working knowledge of HTTP/2, protobuf, and WebSockets.
• Experience with Scala, Python, or TypeScript.

Culture & Benefits

• Equity packages to share in company 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 growth.
• Hybrid work environment blending remote flexibility with in-person collaboration at the Melbourne campus.