Principal Software Engineer - User Platform Team
The Principal Software Engineer for the User Platform Team at Canva will lead the technical direction for complex cross-cutting programs, including Centralised Permissions & AuthZ, Profile Decomposition, and Authentication Platform. This role involves setting architectural strategies and driving delivery across multiple teams, ensuring scalable and high-performance systems that serve hundreds of millions of users.
Key responsibilities include owning the technical direction for User Platform's most complex cross-cutting programs, serving as the platform's principal-level authority across Identity & Access Management, and architecting and overseeing the migration of access checks into a structurally-enforced authorization platform. The role also involves making high-stakes technical trade-offs for critical infrastructure, mentoring and technically enabling the broader User Platform engineering team, and representing User Platform's technical strategy at the executive and cross-group level.
Candidates should have deep expertise in Identity & Access Management at scale, with experience designing and operating Zanzibar-style authorization systems, zero-trust identity architectures, and large-scale authentication platforms. A proven track record of driving platform adoption across large engineering organizations, strong system architecture and technical leadership skills, experience decomposing and evolving monolithic services in production, and demonstrated ability to mentor and elevate senior engineers are also essential.
While specific compensation details are not provided, Canva offers a hybrid work model with flexibility to work remotely and collaborate in person when necessary. The company provides a 'Vibe & Thrive' wellbeing allowance to support employee health and development. Canva has been recognized for its innovative culture, being named number one on Fast Company's 2023 Best Workplaces for Innovators list.
Canva's culture is unique, human-centric, and continually evolving, with every employee playing an active role in shaping the company's environment. The company emphasizes values-driven decision-making, a commitment to sustainability, and a focus on creating a workplace where everyone feels they truly belong.