Senior Machine Learning Engineer - AI Inference Platform

Job Description

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.

Where and how you can work

Our flagship campus is in Sydney. We also have a campus in Melbourne and co-working spaces in Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. But you have choice in where and how you work—we trust our Canvanauts to choose the balance that empowers them and their team to achieve their goals.

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.

At the moment, this role is focused on:

• Designing and architecting Inference platform components that are composable and deliver value for a variety of use cases.

• Building and scaling Canva’s Inference platform components to handle rapid growth.

• Working closely with other teams to understand how we can improve our existing services and platforms, or introduce new ones, in order to optimise their efficiency.

• Providing tooling and libraries for the MLEs to use LLM providers reliably and easily.

• Managing LLM provider platforms.

• Implementing changes that uplift ML Services to be on par with Backend Services.

• Working towards “platformizing” new capabilities or enhancing existing ones, such as model observability.

• Continuing to explore opportunities for our platform teams to better leverage each other in order to optimise for delivery of both product and R&D teams.

You're probably a match if

• You have a deep understanding of machine learning inference, including model serving, optimization, and scaling challenges.

• You have experience in building high-performance, large-scale ML systems.

• You possess deep expertise in Python and Java development, with experience in designing and building ML components as microservices being a plus.

• You have a deep understanding of ML Framework internals and inference frameworks such as vLLM and SGLang.

• You are passionate about engineering excellence, systems architecture, and meeting non-functional requirements.

• You understand Computer Science/Engineering fundamentals and first principles, covering system design, data structures, architecture, and design patterns.

• You have excellent collaboration, communication, and stakeholder management skills.

It would be preferable if

• You are familiar with LLM inference optimisation techniques such as prefill-decode disaggregation and KV cache management.

• You have exposure to the AWS ecosystem, including EKS and ECR.

About the team

Canva's GenAI Platform Group is responsible for the delivery of capabilities that support ML and AI features, from early ideation and prototyping, through to scaling to meet the needs of millions of Canva users in production. We empower thousands of engineers and product managers to deliver amazing product features that harness the power of cutting-edge technologies. 

As an AI Inference Engineer, you'll be at the forefront of building and optimising the inference systems that power Canva's generative AI features used by over 240 million monthly active users worldwide. This role sits at the intersection of ML Engineering and Platform Engineering, requiring both technical depth in the AI Inference Stack and the ability to implement platform capabilities.

You'll work within our AI Platform Group, which serves as the foundation for AI innovation across Canva, supporting Machine Learning Engineers and AI researchers across all of Canva.

What's in it for you?

Achieving our crazy big goals motivates us to work hard—and we do—but you'll experience lots of moments of magic, connectivity and fun woven throughout life at Canva, too. We also offer a range of benefits to set you up for every success in and outside of work.

Here's a taste of what's on offer:
• 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

Check out lifeatcanva.com for more info.

Other stuff to know

We make hiring decisions based on your experience, skills and passion, as well as how you can enhance Canva and our culture. When you apply, please tell us the pronouns you use and any reasonable adjustments you may need during the interview process.

We celebrate all types of skills and backgrounds at Canva, so even if you don't feel like your skills quite match what's listed above—we still want to hear from you!

Please note that interviews are conducted virtually.