Staff Software Engineer - User Platform (Java)

About the Role and Company

Join Canva's User Platform team, which is entrusted with building the backbone infrastructure for identity, authentication, authorization, user profiles, and account management used by hundreds of millions worldwide. As a Staff Backend Engineer specializing in Authorization, you will lead the design and implementation of critical access control systems at scale, including their centralized, SpiceDB-backed authorization platform. This platform supports Canva's mission to evolve into a secure, AI-focused company serving a billion users. The role is based in Sydney with a hybrid work model, blending remote and onsite collaboration at their uniquely designed Surry Hills campus.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain core authorization and access control components, focusing on scalable systems backed by SpiceDB.
• Collaborate with product teams to facilitate the adoption of authorization capabilities by designing effective usage patterns, integrations, and tooling.
• Make informed technical trade-offs ensuring high availability and reliability for infrastructure serving massive user loads.
• Partner closely with Security, API Platform, Admin Experience, and other engineering groups to align requirements and advance platform adoption.
• Shape foundational platform directions involving subject/identity models, access control frameworks, request context, and authorization suited for AI-driven workflows.
• Mentor and elevate engineering team members on system design and best practices related to Identity and Access Management (IAM).

Candidate Profile and Experience

• Significant hands-on experience designing and operating large-scale IAM systems, including role-based (RBAC), relationship-based (ReBAC), attribute-based (ABAC), or Zanzibar-inspired models like SpiceDB.
• Strong expertise in backend engineering, especially with high-performance, robust services; experience with Java is preferred.
• Solid fundamentals in distributed systems and computer science principles.
• Proven ability to break down complex, cross-domain problems into actionable tasks and lead technical consensus and adoption across teams.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, enabling effective collaboration with diverse stakeholders.

Desirable Skills

• Familiarity with policy languages and authorization engines such as Open Policy Agent (OPA) or Cedar.
• Experience with Zanzibar-style access control systems beyond SpiceDB, including Google Zanzibar.
• Track record of evolving large-scale production services smoothly without breaking dependencies.

Additional Information

Canva embraces diverse skills and backgrounds and encourages applicants even if they do not meet every qualification fully. The company values inclusivity and invites applicants to share their pronouns and request reasonable accommodations for the interview process. Hiring decisions focus on experience, skills, enthusiasm, and cultural fit. Interviews are conducted virtually.