Principal Video Engineer - Design Experience (Bay area only)

Canva • San Francisco, CA

1d

About The Position

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. What you’d be doing in this role As Canva scales, change continues to be part of our DNA. But we like to think that's all part of the fun. So this will give you the flavour of the type of things you'll be working on when you start, but this will likely evolve. As a Principal Video Engineer, you'll be stepping into one of the most technically senior and challenging impactful roles within Canva's engineering organisation. We're looking for a technical architect who will shape the future of video technology across our entire platform, working at the intersection of cutting-edge cross-platform video processing engines, scalable system design, and user experience optimisation. This role represents a unique opportunity to lead the technical direction for video infrastructure that serves millions of users daily, directly influencing export performance, rendering quality, and the overall creative experience. You'll be the technical cornerstone that enables our team to push the boundaries of what's possible in browser-based video creation, working alongside some of the industry's most talented engineers to solve problems that have never been solved before. Your architectural decisions will ripple through every video feature we ship, making this role central to Canva's continued dominance in the visual creation space. At the moment, this role is focused on: You'll architect and lead the technical direction for Canva's entire video technology stack, making critical design decisions that balance performance, scalability, and user experience across millions of daily video exports You'll collaborate closely with tenured and experienced Principal/Staff engineers to establish technical standards and best practices, while gradually assuming ownership of video-specific architectural decisions You'll design and implement high-performance rendering systems using modern graphics technologies, optimising video composition pipelines that need to handle complex designs with sub-second responsiveness You'll solve complex technical challenges around video export costs, rendering performance, and system reliability, using your deep understanding of video technology to make trade-offs that maximise both technical excellence and business impact You'll establish technical vision and roadmaps for video technology that enable innovative features like AI-powered effects, advanced international language support, and next-generation video editing capabilities You'll mentor and technically guide other engineers on video-related projects, sharing your expertise in video systems architecture and helping the team execute on ambitious technical initiatives

Requirements

• Deep expertise in video technology and digital content creation tooling, with hands-on experience building video editing, composition, or similar creative software
• Strong system architecture and technical leadership skills, with experience designing scalable systems that can handle millions of users
• Industry connections and open-source contributions in video/graphics technology, demonstrating your engagement with the broader technical community
• Experience with cross-platform development and engine consolidation, particularly in environments that require maintaining multiple codebases

Responsibilities

• Architect and lead the technical direction for Canva's entire video technology stack, making critical design decisions that balance performance, scalability, and user experience across millions of daily video exports
• Collaborate closely with tenured and experienced Principal/Staff engineers to establish technical standards and best practices, while gradually assuming ownership of video-specific architectural decisions
• Design and implement high-performance rendering systems using modern graphics technologies, optimising video composition pipelines that need to handle complex designs with sub-second responsiveness
• Solve complex technical challenges around video export costs, rendering performance, and system reliability, using your deep understanding of video technology to make trade-offs that maximise both technical excellence and business impact
• Establish technical vision and roadmaps for video technology that enable innovative features like AI-powered effects, advanced international language support, and next-generation video editing capabilities
• Mentor and technically guide other engineers on video-related projects, sharing your expertise in video systems architecture and helping the team execute on ambitious technical initiatives

Benefits

• 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 support you personally

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees