Senior Frontend Engineer

About the role

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. This role is centered on significantly enhancing the frontend testing experience for all engineers at Canva by building the software, frameworks, and infrastructure that underpin how engineers test their code rather than testing individual product features yourself. You will design, build, and evolve core components of our Quality Platform to empower thousands of engineers to test effectively and confidently while leading the technical design and delivery of platform solutions. This involves partnering with and influencing engineering teams across Canva to improve developer velocity and quality through driving significant engineering initiatives to reduce test flakiness and improve test health visibility. You will also own and proactively improve the architecture, health, scalability, and performance of our testing infrastructure, making pragmatic technical trade-offs as Canva continues to scale and contribute to the technical direction of Canva's testing ecosystem.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Architect and implement robust frontend testing frameworks using TypeScript and JavaScript to elevate the testing capabilities of thousands of engineers.
• Engineer and maintain critical components of the Quality Platform that serve as the foundation for reliable and scalable test automation across the organization.
• Lead the discovery and technical design of platform solutions that remove friction from the testing process and drive measurable improvements in developer efficiency.
• Partner with product and infrastructure teams to translate complex testing challenges into pragmatic, scalable software solutions.
• Drive initiatives that reduce test flakiness, enhance test health visibility, and deliver smarter diagnostics for rapid issue resolution.
• Optimize the systems behind CI/CD test feedback loops to ensure engineers receive fast, actionable results that accelerate development cycles.
• Take ownership of the architecture, health, and performance of testing infrastructure, balancing innovation with pragmatic trade-offs for sustainable scale.
• Collaborate with cross-functional engineering teams to influence technical direction and promote best practices across the testing ecosystem.
• Mentor and enable other engineers by providing clear technical guidance and fostering a culture of quality through documentation and knowledge sharing.
• Continuously explore emerging testing technologies and patterns to future-proof our platform and maintain competitive advantage.
• Define and track key quality metrics to guide investment in testing infrastructure and demonstrate impact to stakeholders.
• Act as a technical thought leader within the Developer Experience organization and represent Canva in relevant industry discussions.
• Drive the adoption of new testing approaches by building compelling tools and experiences that make quality engineering intuitive and enjoyable.
• Maintain a deep understanding of testing principles across unit, integration, and end-to-end testing to inform platform decisions.

Requirements

• Software Engineering Craft: First and foremost, you're a Software Engineer. You have demonstrated experience designing, building and maintaining robust software systems, with strong knowledge of system design, data structures and operational best practices. You are comfortable making sound technical and architectural trade-offs and remain hands-on in implementation. The coding interview will be run in JavaScript.
• Engineering for Developer Empowerment: You're excited by building software for other engineers. You may have experience with developer tooling, testing infrastructure, CI/CD systems, platform engineering or similar areas where your users are developers. This isn't a QA or manual testing role - you'll be engineering the platforms and tooling that enable Canva engineers to test their own software effectively.
• Technical Leadership: You have experience leading significant software engineering initiatives from ambiguous problem definition through technical design, implementation, delivery and adoption. You can set technical direction, bring others along, and take ownership of outcomes while remaining a hands-on engineer.
• Understanding of Quality & Testing: You understand test automation principles across different levels (unit, integration, E2E) and the engineering challenges involved in building reliable, maintainable and scalable testing frameworks and infrastructure. Deep testing knowledge is valuable, but we're looking for someone who applies that knowledge through software and platform engineering.
• Developer-Centric Mindset: You naturally put yourself in the shoes of your users - in this case, other engineers - and use their feedback and needs to shape intuitive, low-friction developer experiences.
• Pragmatic Problem-Solving: You excel at independently navigating complex and ambiguous software engineering challenges, identifying root causes and making pragmatic trade-offs to deliver solutions that create meaningful and lasting impact.
• Collaborative Influencer: You can articulate complex technical concepts clearly, build alignment across teams and influence technical decisions beyond your immediate team. You readily share knowledge, provide technical guidance and help other engineers grow.
• Drive and Adaptability: You are proactive, results-oriented and comfortable navigating ambiguity. You identify opportunities, take initiative, and drive meaningful outcomes in a fast-paced environment.

Practical notes

At Canva, we believe in flexible work arrangements. You have choice in where and how you work to best suit your lifestyle and commitments. Our flagship campus is in Sydney, with additional campuses in Melbourne and co-working spaces in Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide. This role is based in Sydney, and you can choose how much time you spend in the office versus working remotely. We offer competitive benefits to support your growth and wellbeing, including equity packages and inclusive parental leave policies. If you're excited about shaping the future of design and empowering creativity for millions, we can't wait to hear from you.