Staff Software Engineer (C++)

TL;DR

Staff Software Engineer (C++): Building and maintaining high-performance multimedia services and distributed systems for Canva's global video platform with an accent on scalability, reliability, and cost efficiency. Focus on designing complex video processing pipelines, optimizing multimedia frameworks like FFmpeg/GStreamer, and driving engineering excellence across the platform.

Location: Must be based in Sydney, Australia. The role follows a hybrid work model requiring regular on-campus collaboration.

Company

Canva is a global visual communication platform that empowers millions of users to design and create multimedia content.

What you will do

• Develop and maintain high-performance C++ services and tools for audio and video processing.
• Design distributed systems for efficient multimedia ingestion, storage, and delivery at scale.
• Optimize multimedia processing pipelines for performance, reliability, and cost efficiency.
• Collaborate with product and design teams to enable world-class video editing and playback experiences.
• Drive engineering excellence through code reviews, testing, and operational best practices.
• Troubleshoot complex production challenges within the video infrastructure.

Requirements

• Strong commercial experience in C++ building scalable, secure, and performant backend systems.
• Deep understanding of computer science fundamentals including concurrency, multithreading, and memory management.
• Experience designing and operating distributed systems and scalable backend architectures.
• Hands-on experience with cloud platforms and production environments.
• Deep expertise in multimedia frameworks such as FFmpeg or GStreamer.
• Experience with video codecs (H.264, H.265, VP9, AV1) and multimedia containers.

Nice to have

• Contributions to open-source multimedia projects.
• Experience with adaptive bitrate streaming technologies (DASH, HLS, CMAF).
• Experience working with Java-based services in large-scale environments.

Culture & Benefits

• Equity packages for all employees.
• Inclusive parental leave policy.
• Annual Vibe & Thrive allowance for wellbeing and office setup.
• Flexible leave options to support personal recharge and work-life balance.