Backend Software Engineer (Java) - User Product (Remote across ANZ) - job 1 of 2

As a Backend Software Engineer (Java) at Canva, your primary responsibilities include collaborating with a team to extend and scale our Microservice architecture, particularly focusing on the User Platform. You'll be involved in designing, building, and maintaining backend systems that deliver an exceptional experience for users, especially in Enterprise and Education sectors. Moreover, you'll communicate regularly with stakeholders to ensure alignment on requirements and timelines.

To be a suitable candidate for the Backend Software Engineer (Java) role at Canva, you should have at least five years of commercial experience developing complex applications in Java. Strong fundamentals in computer science, including concurrency and multithreading, are essential. Familiarity with authentication systems, SQL, and DynamoDB will be considered a plus, along with excellent communication skills for effective collaboration.

The Backend Software Engineer (Java) at Canva plays a crucial role in enhancing user experience by developing and maintaining high-performance systems that manage user data efficiently. This role focuses on building reusable components like Permissions and Product Capability controls, which ultimately lead to a more streamlined and effective experience for users, especially those in larger teams.

Yes, the Backend Software Engineer (Java) position at Canva offers flexible remote work options across Australia and New Zealand. Canva values work-life balance and trusts its team members to choose the working arrangements that best suit them while still achieving their goals and contributing to the company's success.

At Canva, a Backend Software Engineer (Java) is afforded numerous growth opportunities. As part of a vibrant team dedicated to innovation, you'll have the chance to learn from experienced engineers, participate in cross-team collaborations, and work on exciting features that directly impact the user experience. Additionally, Canva fosters a culture of continuous learning and professional development, encouraging you to explore new skills and advance in your career.

In your answer, focus on defining microservices as a software architecture where applications are composed of small, independent services, each responsible for a specific function. Highlight benefits such as improved scalability, easier maintenance, and the ability for teams to work independently, leading to faster deployment cycles.

When answering, mention strategies like using proper algorithms and data structures, implementing caching, optimizing database queries, and leveraging multithreading where appropriate. It's also helpful to reference profiling tools to identify bottlenecks.

Discuss coding best practices such as writing clean code, maintaining comprehensive documentation, conducting code reviews, and utilizing unit tests to ensure that your code remains reliable and easy to maintain over time.

Be prepared to detail a specific challenge related to backend development. Focus on the steps you took to analyze the problem, devise a solution, collaborate with your team, and implement the fix, emphasizing the positive outcome that resulted.

Think of an instance where you worked with designers, product managers, or other engineering teams. Explain how effective communication and collaboration led to a successful project outcome, showcasing your interpersonal skills.

Discuss any specific experience you have with systems like OAuth, JWT, or SAML. Describe the scenarios in which you used them and how you ensured secure access controls within applications.

Share your methodical approach to identifying issues, such as using logging, debugging tools, and version control history. Explain how you isolate the problem and apply systematic testing to ensure the solution is effective.

Mention any Java frameworks like Spring or Hibernate you are comfortable with and explain how they enhance your development process. Be specific about how you utilized these tools in previous projects to achieve better results.

Explain your commitment to ongoing learning, such as following tech blogs, attending webinars, participating in coding communities, or engaging in professional development courses that help you stay updated with new technologies and best practices.

Share your perspective on the importance of reliability, scalability, and user experience in backend development. Emphasize the need to create systems that not only work efficiently but also provide a superior experience for end-users.