Wireless IOT-NTN Systems Engineer - coop

Company: Photon-IV Inc. Location: Ottawa, ON — on-site at CENGN (Bayview Yards) with lab access to the Ericsson RIC testbed Term: Fall 2026 (4 or 8 months) — specify start date on application Job setting: On-site Compensation: Paid co-op, competitive with UW/CEWIL Waterloo-region bands

About Photon-IV

Photon-IV is a Waterloo-based (Velocity, University of Waterloo) defence-tech startup building AI-driven predictive software for satellite-terrestrial network integration. Our core product ships as O-RAN that predict link degradation and drive pre-emptive handover between terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks (NTN). We're currently under a DND IDEaS contract and will be running an active CENGN Living Lab engagement.

The role

We're bringing our O-RAN stack to CENGN's Living Lab for end-to-end testing against a live Ericsson RIC. This role is the on-the-ground engineer in Ottawa who keeps that testbed running and gets us real, measured results.

You'll work directly with our technical leads and existing co-op team (currently based in Waterloo) but be the primary presence at the CENGN facility day to day.

What you'll do

• Stand up and maintain our test environment against the Ericsson RIC over the E2 interface, including E2AP subscription setup and troubleshooting
• Run structured test procedures across CENGN's two-zone testbed architecture (terrestrial and NTN-emulated segments) and log results against defined pass/fail criteria
• Debug interface and protocol-version mismatches between our xApp's RMR-based subscription path and the RIC's E2 stack this is real, unresolved integration work, not a scripted lab exercise
• Collect and structure link-performance data (RSRP, latency, handover timing) for comparison against our simulation-trained model
• Document test procedures, results, and defect reports clearly enough that our Waterloo team can act on them without being in the room
• Coordinate logistics with CENGN facility staff and Ericsson technical contacts for lab access, scheduling, and equipment

What we're looking for

• Currently enrolled in a Canadian co-op program in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a closely related field
• Comfortable with Linux, command-line tooling, and scripting (Python required; C/C++ an asset)
• Some exposure to networking fundamentals (TCP/IP, sockets) — telecom-specific knowledge (O-RAN, 3GPP, RAN protocols) is a strong asset but not required; we'll teach the domain if you bring the fundamentals
• Comfortable working independently at a facility separate from the rest of the team, with good written communication back to Waterloo
• Based in or able to relocate to Ottawa for the term
• Canadian citizen or permanent resident preferred given the defence-program context; please indicate your status on application

Why this role

• Hands-on with a live O-RAN RIC deployment and real satellite-terrestrial network testing — not a simulated sandbox
• Small team, direct access to the technical leads, real ownership of the Ottawa testbed