Zero sum game - Backend Engineer Canva Employee Review

1.0
Mar 27, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

* still free food * cool office and gym

Cons

* Toxic positivity throughout: you bring in problems, you are the problems * Incompetent middle management that blames their fault on IC * BLAME-FUL engineering culture: you had a bug, well, wait for it to reflect on your review * HR team protects managers mostly * eng department is a boys' clubs * All people are getting treated equally. If you know someone higher up, you will get treated more equally. * Lots of CEO's decisions feel like bangs on the head

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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