Machine Learning Engineer - Training & Dataset Platform (AU remote)

About the Group/Team

In the AI Platform group — AI Capabilities / Dataset & Training Platform — we build the underlying systems that enable teams across Canva to develop and improve AI features at scale. We focus on making high-quality training data easier to create, manage, and evaluate, while keeping trust, safety, and reliability front-and-centre. We partner closely with ML engineers, applied scientists, product teams, and platform teams to unblock development and lift the baseline for how AI is built at Canva. Our work creates leverage: when we ship, many teams ship faster and safer.

About the Role/Specialty

As a Machine Learning Engineer, you’ll work at the intersection of ML, data systems, and platform engineering to help build and improve the datasets and tooling that enable training and evaluation. We’re looking for someone who enjoys rolling up their sleeves to solve real problems — improving data quality, pipeline reliability, and developer workflows. You’ll contribute to systems that make it easier for teams to run experiments, iterate on models, and measure improvements over time. Your work will directly impact the speed and quality of AI development across Canva.

What you’ll do (responsibilities)

• You’ll build and improve data pipelines, dataset tooling, and platform components that support ML training and evaluation.

• You’ll partner with ML and applied science teams to translate training/evaluation needs into scalable platform solutions.

• You’ll implement quality controls (validation, monitoring, testing) to improve trust in data and pipeline outcomes.

• You’ll debug issues across data + ML workflows, driving root-cause fixes and preventing repeat incidents.

• You’ll contribute to engineering standards: code quality, documentation, and operational readiness.

• You’ll support iteration velocity by improving developer experience for dataset discovery, usage, and experimentation.

What we're looking for

We’re looking for a pragmatic engineer who enjoys solving messy, real-world ML/data problems and shipping improvements that stick. You have solid foundations in ML engineering and data systems, and you care about making workflows reliable, measurable, and easy for others to use. You communicate clearly, collaborate well across disciplines, and take ownership of delivering outcomes (not just tasks). Most importantly, you’re excited to build platform capabilities that help Canva’s AI teams move faster — while keeping quality and trust high.

• You’re comfortable & have demonstrated experience working with large datasets and understand data preprocessing, feature engineering, and evaluation techniques
• You have strong programming skills (e.g., Python) and experience with ML frameworks (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch)
• You enjoy solving complex problems and thinking critically about model performance and trade-offs
• You’re a collaborative team player who communicates clearly with both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• You’re excited about working in a fast-paced, product-driven environment and contributing to impactful AI solutions