Senior Legal Counsel

Company Description

Join the team redefining how the world experiences design.

Hey, g'day, mabuhay, kia ora, 你好, hallo, vítejte!

Thanks for stopping by. We know job hunting can be a little time consuming and you're probably keen to find out what's on offer, so we'll get straight to the point.

Where and how you can work

Our flagship Sydney campus is uniquely Canva - an extension of our Surry Hills neighbourhood. It’s a thoughtfully designed space with plenty of room to collaborate, focus, and connect.

This role is based in Sydney, and we’re looking for someone who calls it home. Our hybrid way of working gives you the flexibility to work remotely, and to come together on campus for meaningful in-person collaboration and connection when it matters most. We trust our Canvanauts to choose the balance that empowers them and their team to achieve their goals.

About the Role

Canva is looking for a Senior Legal Counsel for our Product and Privacy team; that supports our product and engineering teams to continually and rapidly evolve Canva AI and how it pulls into an ecosystem of tools whilst making them risk aware of applicable privacy, IP, AI, online safety, marketing, accessibility, platform and consumer laws. You will need to have 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 exciting Product and Privacy function for Canva in Australia and work at the intersection of AI, product counselling, and legal strategy and governance. Your colleagues will be all over the world meaning comfort with time zones is a must!

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 will likely evolve.

At the moment, this role Is focused on

• 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.

You're probably a match if

• 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.
• You’re comfortable collaborating with team members in other time zones
• You are a collaborative, pragmatic, business-minded lawyer who wants to help the Canva group grow and be a 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

Bonus if you have:

• AI Governance Professional, Certified Information Privacy Professional qualifications highly regarded (and 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.

What's in it for you?

Achieving our crazy big goals motivates us to work hard - and we do - but you'll experience lots of moments of magic, connectivity, and fun woven throughout life at Canva, too. We also offer a stack of benefits to set you up for every success in and outside of work.

Here's a glimpse into what we offer:

• Equity packages - we want our success to be yours too
• 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, study, and support you personally

Check out lifeatcanva.com for more info.

Other stuff to know

We make hiring decisions based on your experience, skills and passion, as well as how you can enhance Canva and our culture. When you apply, please tell us the pronouns you use and any reasonable adjustments you may need during the interview process.

Please note that interviews are conducted virtually.