Staff Data Scientist (CJKI)

Job 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.

What you'd be doing in this role

As Canva scales, change continues to be part of our DNA. But we like to think that’s all part of the fun. This will give you a flavour of the types of things you’ll be working on when you start — though it will likely evolve over time.

At the moment, this role is focused on

• Define the CJKI and International Data Vision & Strategy: Own and shape the end-to-end data strategy for China, Japan, South Korea, and India. Establish how we measure success across highly diverse and complex markets - defining scalable frameworks, region-specific KPIs, and long-term growth metrics that balance global consistency with local nuance.
• Act as a Strategic Thought Partner to Regional Leadership: Serve as the senior analytics partner to CJKI country leaders and regional marketing leads. Influence investment decisions, market expansion priorities, and localisation strategy through forward-looking, insight-driven recommendations - not just reporting performance, but shaping direction.
• Translate Regional Complexity into Global Influence: Ensure the voice of CJKI users is embedded in Canva’s global product and growth strategy. Synthesise behavioural trends, monetisation dynamics, ecosystem constraints, and experimentation learnings into clear inputs that influence roadmap decisions.
• Identify Structural Growth Levers: Go beyond surface metrics to uncover structural drivers of growth and friction - including lifecycle drop-offs, pricing sensitivity, ecosystem dynamics, regulatory constraints, and localisation gaps unique to CJKI markets.
• Set the Regional Measurement & Experimentation Bar: Define best-in-class experimentation and measurement standards across the not only the region but at Canva. Guide the design, interpretation, and rollout of experiments, pilots, and feature launches across multiple markets - ensuring speed, rigour, and long-term learning.
• Build Scalable Regional Data Foundations: Oversee the evolution of trusted, scalable data products that provide visibility into user growth, retention, monetisation, campaign performance, and product adoption across CJKI and International ensuring the region operates on strong, decision-ready data infrastructure.
• Elevate Craft Across International Data: Act as a force multiplier within the International Data team, mentoring Senior Data Scientists, setting quality standards, sharing reusable frameworks, and influencing best practices across regions.

You're probably a match if

• You have 8+ years in data, growth, or product analytics, with impact that spans your team and influences adjacent teams; with demonstrated ownership of a major region, business line, or strategic domain.
• You’ve operated as a trusted advisor to c-level stakeholders, influencing decisions at leadership level rather than solely delivering analysis.
• You think in systems - connecting product, marketing, monetisation, lifecycle, and market dynamics into coherent growth strategies.
• You're fluent in English and speak Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, or Korean - this helps you collaborate deeply with the local teams and understand the cultural nuances that shape how our product lands in market.
• You define long-term measurement philosophies and success frameworks, not just dashboards.
• You design and critique complex experimentation programs (multi-market rollouts, counter-metrics, guardrails, power trade-offs) and translate results into clear strategic action.
• You proactively identify ambiguous, undefined problems and create clarity, alignment, and forward motion.
• You balance global scalability with local nuance - knowing when to standardise and when to localise.
• You communicate complex ideas with clarity and conviction to diverse audiences, from country managers to global product leaders.
• You uplift the craft: share reusable code and documentation, review PRs/queries, and mentor other data scientists informally to scale good practices.
• You actively leverage AI in your day-to-day work to accelerate insights, improve quality, and increase impact.
• You bring deep expertise in SQL and Python and are highly proficient in modern analytics stacks (e.g., Snowflake, Mode, NetSpring, Omni) and experimentation platforms (e.g., Pilot or similar).

Nice‑to‑Haves

• Experience working in one or more CJKI markets.
• Understanding of platform ecosystems, localisation strategy, and regulatory considerations in China, Japan, South Korea, or India.
• Experience supporting international product expansion or market entry.
• Passion for Canva’s mission and curiosity about how technology adoption varies across cultures.

About the team

This role sits within the International Data Team - a distributed group of Data Scientists who exist to deliver a high-quality understanding of our markets, products, and users. We turn data into clarity so Canva makes the right decisions at the right time.

CJKI represents one of Canva’s most strategically important and complex growth opportunities. The region spans diverse languages, regulatory environments, digital ecosystems, and user behaviours - requiring thoughtful regional strategy deeply connected to our global platform.

As the Staff Data Scientist for International, you’ll be the senior analytics voice - shaping how we define success, unlocking structural growth opportunities, and ensuring regional insights meaningfully influence Canva’s global direction.

If you’re excited about operating at the intersection of regional nuance and global scale - and building systems that influence company-wide strategy - this is your opportunity.

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 range of benefits to set you up for every success in and outside of work.

Here’s a taste of what’s on 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 and supports 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.

We celebrate all types of skills and backgrounds at Canva so even if you don’t feel like your skills quite match what’s listed above - we still want to hear from you!

Please note that interviews are conducted virtually.