T'was the best of companies, T'was the worst of companies. - Senior Software Engineer Canva Employee Review

4.0
May 20, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Probably the best employee benefits in Australia. Free food. 2k of free stuff every year. Great pay Great stock options. Lot of prestige Exposure to great engineers, and great hard working people Good culture of engineering discussion Guest speakers like the CTO of amazon randomly arrive and talk. Nice to be on the train home, and see random people using the app you worked on that day.

Cons

Navigating the codebase is like dissecting a dried piece of turd that's been sitting on the side of the road for 10 years. (and that's basically what it is). Especially the Front End. It's horrible. It has a decade's worth of horrible dev practices at every level baked in. It's too big to change now. Look up "avoid prop drilling principle" on react. Prepare to see it violated on a level that belongs on the Epstein list. We're talking 20 arguments passed through every function, 5 functions in a chain. There's a reason the reddit page is like non-stop "This stopped working" "That stopped working"... It's 1000 of some of the best engineers in the world using their mind to construct an elaborate maze of duct tape to hold together a rotting architecture... and they can't fix it. They are trying to build AI features on top to stay relevant but we are hearing the structure begin to start creaking, every other day is an incident. --- The 'Coach' management system is hit or miss. You will regularly get coaches that are great developers, but terrible at reading people or communicating expectations. ---

Explore other reviews about Canva

5.0
Apr 27, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Fast pace - Interesting tech - Fun product to work on - Great culture & values

Cons

- Crunch periods can be full on

3.0
May 28, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Product is beloved by users. Brand affinity is second to none which makes being a marketer a lot of fun. Genuinely good and caring coworkers who want to build something great. Hiring bar is high. Vibe and Thrive benefit is clever and unique.

Cons

Behind the brand is a cult like culture with the “founders” surrounded by yes people (whether they are aware of it or not). Mediocrity seems to be tolerated among management’s “old guard” causing tension and churn with newer and sometimes more experienced leaders. Insecure leaders at some of the highest levels perpetuate much of the toxic behaviors described in the reviews below such as gaslighting and favoritism. People “disappear” with little to no explanation, but hey, it’s the “Canva way”.

4
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