Senior Legal Counsel – Product & Privacy

About the role

Canva is seeking a Senior Legal Counsel to join its Product and Privacy team in Melbourne. You will work closely with product, engineering and global stakeholders to navigate privacy, AI, IP and consumer law challenges as Canva scales its AI‑driven offerings.

Key responsibilities

• Identify and advise on legal issues across privacy, data protection, intellectual property, marketing, online safety, AI regulation, competition and consumer law.
• Build strong relationships with product, engineering and partnership teams to guide development, go‑to‑market strategy and risk mitigation.
• Develop and operationalise company‑wide AI policies, legal frameworks and internal playbooks.
• Draft and maintain guidance for AI tools, and create scalable legal review processes for new product launches.
• Participate in privacy or data‑security incident response, including investigations and notifications.

Required profile

• Legally qualified (AUS/NZ, UK, EU or US practising certificate) with 10+ years of legal experience, preferably in‑house at a technology company.
• Deep knowledge of global digital, AI, privacy, consumer and online‑safety regulations (e.g., EU AI Act, GDPR, Digital Services Act, Online Safety Acts).
• Strong understanding of modern AI technologies, including generative and agentic AI, and associated regulatory considerations.
• Comfortable collaborating across time zones and with engineers, product managers and marketers.

Required skills

• Expertise in privacy and data‑protection law.
• Knowledge of intellectual property, competition and consumer law.
• Familiarity with AI governance and emerging technology regulation.

What we offer

• Equity packages.
• Inclusive parental leave policy.
• Annual Vibe & Thrive allowance for wellbeing and office setup.
• Flexible leave options.