Principal Software Engineer - Mobile Platform

Overview

Join the team transforming the global design experience through cutting-edge mobile technology. As a Principal Software Engineer in the Mobile Platform team, you'll be critical in shaping how Canva operates on iOS and Android devices, supporting hundreds of millions of users and multiple product teams.

Core Responsibilities

• Lead the architectural direction for Canva's hybrid mobile platform across React Native, iOS, and Android, determining shared versus native components and their integration.
• Develop and deliver the new mobile platform into production promptly, ensuring foundations for performance, reliability, and observability.
• Deploy a React Native product interface live within six months, backed by stable core capabilities for product teams.
• Provide architectural guidance and mentorship to senior engineers during the migration process from existing systems to the new platform.
• Drive adoption and establish trust in the new platform among major product teams, influencing technical approaches across hundreds of frontend engineers.

Experience and Expertise

• Extensive experience architecting and evolving large-scale cross-platform mobile systems in production, with preferred expertise in React Native, Flutter, Kotlin Multiplatform, or equivalent frameworks.
• Proven track record leading migrations of mature, live mobile products onto new architectures at scale.
• Demonstrated principal-level technical leadership setting direction for multiple teams and driving organization-wide architectural standards.
• Strong coding proficiency paired with deep engineering and system-level knowledge, comfortable handling complex implementation challenges.
• Sound engineering judgment capable of constructive assumption-challenging and decisions based on fundamental principles, beyond promoting a particular technology.

Technical Skills and Knowledge

• In-depth understanding of mobile runtime environments including shared-code runtimes, native boundaries, bundle delivery, and performance optimization on devices.
• Expertise in fundamentals of both iOS and Android platforms, with insight into suitable shared abstractions versus distinct native solutions.
• Experience enhancing mobile performance, reliability, crash monitoring, and scalability.
• Ability to architect shared capabilities, libraries, abstractions, and infrastructure leveraged across multiple engineering teams.
• Strong foundation in data structures, algorithmic complexity, and system-level trade-offs.

Desired Additional Skills

• Advanced production experience with React Native and React internals.
• Proficiency in system languages such as Rust or C/C++ for cross-platform portable libraries.
• Contributions to open-source projects related to React Native, Flutter, Kotlin Multiplatform, Expo, or similar ecosystems.
• Expertise in mobile CI/CD pipelines including release trains and over-the-air updates at scale.
• Familiarity with AI technologies applied to software engineering workflows and mobile development.

Team and Culture

You will join Canva's Client Platform group responsible for the foundational layers supporting all product teams and user experiences. The Mobile Platform group emphasizes mobile performance, cross-platform scalability, and owning Canva's mobile future on phones and tablets. The role includes collaboration with hundreds of engineers and aims to create lasting architectural impact.

Benefits and Perks

• Equity participation, sharing in the company's success.
• A parental leave policy inclusive of all parents and carers.
• Vibe & Thrive annual allowance promoting wellbeing, social connections, and ergonomic office setups.
• Flexible leave policies encouraging personal growth and time to recharge.

Additional Information

Canva hires based on skills, experience, passion, and cultural fit. Applicants are encouraged to share pronouns and request interview accommodations if needed. Interviews for this role are conducted virtually.