Managing Lead Counsel

Our flagship office is in Sydney, Australia, but we've made our way from down under, to a hub in San Francisco , which is now home to our US operations. As Managing Counsel, Corporate, you will be a seasoned, trusted adviser and a leader within our Corporate Legal Team. You'll take end-to-end ownership of our most complex, novel and high-stakes matters, lead company-wide initiatives, shape how the legal function operates, and mentor and develop attorneys across the team, including:
Shaping and driving global expansion strategy, partnering with our global entities team and local counsel to grow our business worldwide
Leading employee equity and executive compensation programs, working with our equity ops, employment legal and total rewards teams
Advising on matters relating to the operation and governance of the Canva Foundation
Managing external counsel, and mentoring and developing attorneys across the team
You have 8+ years of corporate legal experience, ideally trained at a law firm specializing in venture-backed or high-growth technology companies, with deep in-house experience — you know how to move fast, handle complexity, and keep up with demanding clients. You have extensive experience leading corporate transactions, including venture financings, secondary transactions and acquisitions — you understand cap table mechanics, investor rights and how the pieces fit together; You are fluent in equity and cap table management — you may not be doing the day-to-day administration, but you know the rules, understand the mechanics and can spot an issue before it becomes one.
You lead significant, company-wide initiatives that redefine how we work, anticipating future legal risks and opportunities and aligning legal strategy with Canva's long-term vision.
You're all in on AI — you love finding new ways to save time and are always exploring how to leverage tools like Claude, ChatGPT, Glean, and others to automate and streamline how work gets done, and you champion adoption across the team.
You can jump into the chaos, clean things up, add structure and run a tight ship — working with the team to keep minute books and subsidiary records in great shape across multiple jurisdictions, rallying your teammates to make sure everything stays that way.
You have a Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school and active membership in at least one U.S. state bar.
You apply the law commercially and pragmatically, give strategic advice that weighs the wider business impact, and are risk aware, not risk averse — exercising sound, independent judgement on risk appetite.
You create a culture of mentoring and development across the legal team — sharing knowledge and best practice, modelling two-way feedback, and helping others grow.
You are highly collaborative with a positive attitude, humor, humility and the desire to build, lead and make an impact — and you're recognised, internally and often externally, as a thought leader in your field.
You are resourceful and self-motivated and have exceptional time management and organizational skills.
You are comfortable working at an international company, with its headquarters in Sydney, AU, and shifting your calendar, when necessary (not always), to ensure overlap with stakeholders – which means you may need to attend some meetings later in the evenings and earlier in the mornings.
You have exceptional written and verbal communication skills and influence confidently and autonomously at the most senior levels — including founders, the board and investors — as a trusted adviser, bringing people along using storytelling, design and data.
You are a self-starter and quick learner with the ability to operate independently and as part of a team in a fast-paced environment, appropriately prioritizing and managing numerous projects simultaneously under deadline pressure with minimal guidance.
You have excellent technology skills with proficiency in G Suite, Slack, Microsoft Word, Excel; experience with board portals and subsidiary management databases is a plus.

And our Legal team is there every step of the way - ideating, providing strategic legal advice and collaborating with Canvanauts across the globe to bring our ideas to life.
~ The Corporate Legal Team specifically works closely with Canva's leadership, Finance, Tax, People and Total Rewards teams (and many more!) across a broad range of projects, helping to empower Canva to meet its crazy big goals. From supporting our financings, acquisitions and global expansion, to advising our board of directors and managing employee equity, we strive to be collaborative, creative and strategic partners for the business and its stakeholders.

Equity packages - we want our success to be yours too

• Health benefits plans to support you and your wellbeing
• 401(k) retirement plan with company contribution
• 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

At Canva we value fairness, and we strive to provide competitive, market-informed compensation whilst ensuring internal equity within the team in each region. The target salary range for this position is $228,000 - $345,000. When calculating offers, we make salary decisions based on market data and candidates' skills and experience.
Permanent