Company and team

Join the team redefining how the world experiences design.

Canva's flagship office is in Sydney, Australia, and it has a hub in San Francisco, which is now home to its US operations. Canva offers flexibility in how and where you work, and trusts its Canvanauts to choose the balance that empowers them and their team to achieve their goals.

Canva is looking for a Senior Legal Counsel for its Product and Privacy team. The role supports the product and engineering teams to continually and rapidly evolve Canva AI and how it pulls into an ecosystem of tools, while making them risk aware of applicable privacy, IP, AI, online safety, marketing, accessibility, platform and consumer laws. You will need a solid foundation in global laws in these areas and an enthusiasm for emerging and generative AI technologies.

This role is a unique opportunity to join the Product and Privacy function for Canva in Australia and work at the intersection of AI, product counselling, and legal strategy and governance. Colleagues are located all over the world, so comfort with time zones is a must.

As Canva scales, change continues to be part of its DNA. The list below gives a flavour of the work you'll do when you start, which will likely evolve.

What you'll do

• Identify and advise on legal issues in key areas including privacy, data protection, intellectual property, marketing, online safety, AI regulation, platform, competition, and consumer laws.
• Build strong relationships with key stakeholders, advising on product development (including agentic and generative AI products), go-to-market strategy, partnership terms, consumer-facing terms and risk mitigation.
• Contribute to the development and operationalization of company-wide AI policies, processes and legal frameworks.
• Draft and maintain legal playbooks and internal guidance related to AI tools and technologies.
• Collaborate closely with privacy, IP, security, product and engineering teams.
• Help build scalable and effective processes for legal review to enable the launch of new products.
• Participate in the review and coordination of potential privacy or data security incidents (including on call), including investigations, notifications, and other resolution efforts.
• Stay up to date with global AI and privacy regulations and relevant industry standards.

What we're looking for

• Legally qualified (AUS/NZ, UK, EU or US practising certificate).
• 10+ years practicing law, with some experience in-house, preferably in a technology company.
• Familiarity with key global digital, AI, privacy, consumer and online safety laws and regulations (e.g. EU AI Act, GDPR, ePrivacy Directive, Digital Services Act, Online Safety Act(s)).
• Deep understanding of modern AI technology and products. You have real opinions on things like generative and agentic AI, and the privacy, IP, safety and regulatory considerations that come with them.
• Comfort collaborating with team members in other time zones.
• A collaborative, pragmatic, business-minded lawyer who wants to help the Canva group grow and be part of its exciting journey.
• You bring clarity to complexity and simplify compliance without compromising standards.
• You love collaborating with engineers, PMs, and marketers, and thrive in fast-moving environments.
• You're risk aware, not risk adverse.
• You're creative, curious, and motivated by meaningful work.

Nice to have

• AI Governance Professional and Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP) qualifications are highly regarded. A willingness to obtain CIPP certification within 6 months of joining is a must.
• Knowledge and understanding of Canva.
• High level of comfort with technology and AI experimentation.
• Hands-on experience advising rapidly growing technology companies on privacy and product related regulatory requirements.

Pay and benefits

Canva works hard to achieve its crazy big goals, and also offers moments of magic, connectivity, and fun throughout life at Canva, along with a stack of benefits:

• Equity packages, so that success is yours too.
• Health benefits plans to support you and your wellbeing.
• 401(k) retirement plan with company contribution.
• Inclusive parental leave policy that supports all parents & carers.
• An annual Vibe & Thrive allowance to support your wellbeing, social connection, office setup & more.
• Flexible leave options that empower you to be a force for good, take time to recharge and support you personally.

Canva values fairness and strives to provide competitive, market-informed compensation while ensuring internal equity within the team in each region. Hiring decisions are based on your skills, experience and Canva's overall assessment of what it observed and learnt in the hiring process. The target salary range for this position is $187,000 to $280,000. Offers are based on market data and candidates' skills and experience.

How to apply

Hiring decisions are based on your experience, skills and passion, as well as how you can enhance Canva and its culture. When you apply, tell Canva the pronouns you use and any reasonable adjustments you may need during the interview process.

Interviews are conducted virtually.