Senior Research Scientist - GenAI (Design Generation)
Canva is seeking a Senior Research Scientist to join its Design Generation team, a group dedicated to developing AI models and pipelines that enable users to create stunning designs effortlessly. This team operates at the intersection of research and product development, collaborating closely with Product, Design, and Engineering to deliver AI-powered experiences that are intuitive, reliable, and human-centric. The work of this team directly influences how millions of users worldwide create, explore, and express their ideas through Canva.
In this role, you will contribute to research projects aimed at developing foundational models across Canva's AI domains, with a particular focus on visual design generation and editing. Your responsibilities will include designing and conducting experiments to test hypotheses, enhancing model behavior, and evaluating real-world performance. You will translate theoretical research and academic papers into robust, production-ready implementations, and assist in refining model architectures and training methodologies to improve outcomes. Collaboration with Research Engineers will be essential to scale models and integrate them into Canva's product ecosystem. Staying abreast of emerging trends, technologies, and challenges will inform the research direction, and you will share your knowledge internally through documentation and cross-team collaborations, as well as externally through papers or talks when appropriate.
The ideal candidate will possess solid expertise in AI research, particularly in areas such as large language models (LLMs), vision-language models, generative AI, or multi-modal systems. A publication record or evidence of research impact in academia or industry is highly desirable. Experience in contributing to research projects from problem formulation through to deployment, with support from more senior team members, is expected. The ability to transform complex theoretical ideas into tangible solutions and evaluate them rigorously is crucial. A collaborative mindset is essential, as the role involves working effectively with engineers, product teams, and other researchers.
Canva offers a range of benefits to support employees' success both inside and outside of work. These include equity packages to share in the company's success, an inclusive parental leave policy supporting all parents and carers, and an annual Vibe & Thrive allowance to support wellbeing, social connection, office setup, and more. Flexible leave options empower employees to take time to recharge, support others, or focus on personal development.
Joining Canva means becoming part of a company that values passion, curiosity, and a willingness to learn. The company encourages applications from individuals who are excited about the role, even if they do not meet every listed requirement, recognizing that great engineers come from a variety of backgrounds. Canva is committed to redefining how the world experiences design and offers opportunities for growth and development within a dynamic and supportive environment.