AI Research Lead - Generative AI

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, with a second campus in Melbourne and co-working spaces in Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, and Auckland, NZ. You have flexibility in how and where you work — whether that's from one of our spaces, from home, or a mix of both. This role is remote-friendly within Australia or New Zealand, so you can choose the setup that empowers you and your team to do your best work.

As Canva grows, so does the impact and opportunity of our AI-powered features. We’re looking for a Research Lead to coach a team of world-class scientists, build on our foundational model roadmap, and turn academic breakthroughs into delightful product experiences. If you thrive in bridging deep research with practical application, and you love helping others grow while solving hard technical problems—this could be the role for you.

You will lead and grow a team of high-performing research scientists who are advancing the future of AI at scale. Your focus will be on setting strategic research direction, coaching others to deliver impactful scientific contributions, and ensuring the translation of research into meaningful product capabilities. You’ll champion both scientific excellence and scalable impact, bridging foundational model innovation with real-world deployment across Canva’s platform.

This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who is passionate about cultivating talent, shaping a research vision, and partnering cross-functionally to embed cutting-edge AI into delightful user experiences.

At the moment, this role is focused on:

• Coaching and mentoring a high-performing team of research scientists.

• Setting research strategy in alignment with Canva’s AI and product goals.

• Guiding technical direction across foundational model development, experimentation, and evaluation.

• Partnering cross-functionally to ensure research translates into product impact.

• Representing Canva in the global AI community through publications, talks, or open-source contributions.

You’re probably a match if you:

• Have led research or applied science teams, with a strong track record of coaching and impact.

• Possess expert knowledge and experience with GANs, Diffusion Models, VAEs, and Autoregressive Models.

• Are deeply skilled in ML, AI, or foundational model development and training —and still enjoy being hands-on.

• Excel at translating cutting-edge research into practical, scalable solutions.

• Bring strategic thinking and scientific rigour to project direction and problem solving.

• Thrive in collaborative environments and communicate clearly with technical and non-technical audiences.

• Stay current with research trends and are energised by continuous learning.

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 stack 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, home office setup & more
• Flexible leave options that empower you to be a force for good, take time to recharge and supports 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.

Please note that interviews are predominantly conducted virtually.