Staff Security Engineer- AI Security (remote across Australia)

Join the team redefining how the world experiences design.

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.

We’re building a specialized AI Security capability to address the unique challenges that come with deploying AI and machine learning at scale. As a Staff Security Engineer, you’ll operate at the intersection of security engineering and AI innovation - pioneering new approaches to emerging AI security challenges and driving novel research into evolving threats and attack techniques. You’ll serve as a technical authority across Canva, setting strategic direction for AI security and defining the frameworks, standards, and secure-by-design patterns that enable safe AI adoption across both our product and broader business landscape.

At the moment, this role is focused on:

• Define the strategic direction and security frameworks for AI systems at scale, and lead the design and implementation of controls across model training pipelines, inference endpoints, and AI-powered features across Canva's platform

• Lead novel research into emerging AI security threats and attack vectors, and drive threat modelling, vulnerability assessments, and penetration testing focused on risks such as prompt injection, model poisoning, and data extraction

• Serve as the technical authority for AI security across Canva by leading security reviews and code assessments for AI use cases, identifying risks and providing actionable recommendations to mitigate potential threats

• Drive the strategy and development of detection rules and response playbooks tailored to AI-specific security incidents and anomalous behaviour, ensuring they scale across Canva’s AI footprint

• Lead organisation-wide AI security standards and best practices by collaborating with stakeholders across the business (including executive leadership) to embed secure-by-design workflows, and mentor and guide other security engineers working on AI initiatives

You're probably a match if:

• You bring deep technical expertise in AI security, with a track record of novel research and innovation -  and the ability to apply that knowledge pragmatically to real-world challenges at scale.

• You have a proven ability to explore genuinely unknown security problems, think holistically across product and business contexts, and set strategic direction in a fast-moving, ambiguous space.

• You're a recognised technical authority and thought leader who can influence senior stakeholders, align cross-functional teams, and drive outcomes without a clear playbook.

• You're self-motivated and thrive in high-paced environments, bringing calm, high-leverage leadership when the path forward isn't obvious.

• You're a strong communicator and fast networker in large organisations, with the ability to build trust quickly across engineering, product, and executive stakeholders.

• You're invested in raising the bar for security across the organisation -  mentoring other engineers and building durable frameworks that help teams ship securely and consistently.