Design Elements Lead - 12 month Fixed Term Contract

Join the team redefining how the world experiences design.

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Where and how you can work

Our flagship campus is in Sydney. We also have a campus in Melbourne and co-working spaces in Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. But you have choice in where and how you work. That means if you want to do your thing in the office (if you're near one), at home or a bit of both, it's up to you.

Please note this is a 12 month Fixed Term Contract role 

About the role

As the Acting Elements Lead you will oversee creative direction, craft quality, and strategic vision across Canva’s Elements — spanning photos, videos, fonts, copy, audio, motion, and graphics.

You’ll co-lead the Design Studio alongside the Design Lead, Creative Education Lead, and Ops Lead. A core part of this role includes driving AI-first creative systems across every element type, shaping how we generate, scale, and quality-assure AI-powered content. This multidisciplinary team sets the creative strategy and quality bar for all element types (alongside templates), connects craft and subgroup leads, and guides day-to-day management, creative reviews, and execution. Together, you ensure quality consistency, creative innovation, and alignment with Canva’s product and brand goals. The Design Studio also act as the key points of contact for Brand Marketing and Partnerships, aligning on requests, campaigns, and the creative impact of Canva’s Elements.

What you’d be doing in this role

• Lead craft quality across all element types
  Uphold and evolve the quality bar across photos, videos, fonts, copy, audio, motion, and graphics — ensuring cohesive, high-performing content aligned to product and brand strategy.

• Co-lead the Design Studio
  Provide daily elements focused creative direction, critiques, and green-lights; connect subgroups and craft leads; standardise quality and workflow practices with your Design, Creative Education, and Ops counterparts.

• Be the central POC for Brand & Partnerships for Elements
  With the Design, Creative Education, and Ops leads, triage brand/partner requests, drive alignment, and steer partnership content toward impact and quality.

• Champion product representation
  Partner with Supergroup Leads and key stakeholders so Elements show up beautifully and meaningfully across the product experience.

• Own AIGC elements & partner content quality
  Set standards and review practices for AI-generated and partner-sourced Elements, balancing scale with craftsmanship and safety.

• Improve workflows and efficiency
  Refine processes, tooling, and handoffs to codify quality, brief writing, and review systems.

• Guide craft leads in strategic planning
  Support Craft Leads to develop and refine element creative strategies that align with company level goals — ensuring each craft’s direction ladders up to clear outcomes and measurable impact.

You’re probably a match if

A seasoned creative leader (Art Director, Creative Director, or Content Lead) from tech, media, or publishing who is fluent across crafts and comfortable moving between creative reviews, leadership forums, and data discussions.

You’ll bring:

• Broad creative literacy across photography, fonts, graphics, motion, video, copy, and audio — and how they work in content and in-product.

• Production fluency — expert in content, AI-generated workflows, partner acquisitions, and regional vs. localised production levers.

• Taste and quality judgment in an AI-first world — deep respect for craft, safety, and brand fit.

• Strategic and data-driven thinking — connect creative decisions to product metrics and business outcomes.

• People leadership — motivate and rally multidisciplinary teams; coach individuals; communicate clearly up, down, and across.

• Trend awareness — convert internal signals and external creative trends into actionable opportunities.

About the team

Within Content Studio, the Elements team curates, creates, and acquires photos, videos, graphics, motion, audio, copy, and fonts that are both globally relevant and Truly Local. We balance creative excellence with innovation — embracing AI-powered workflows, data insights, and global partnerships to keep Canva’s library best-in-class.

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.

Check out lifeatcanva.com for more info.