Inside Sco-op: life at Crypto4A
From their career aspirations to personal hobbies, experiences and perspectives, get to know our latest co-op students and their journey with Crypto4A so far.
Our co-op students describe their days as a blend of team interactions and independent project work, allowing them to gain valuable hands-on experience and the chance to make meaningful contributions. They value the balance between support and autonomy, along with the opportunities for learning and professional growth. Discover what it’s like to be a co-op student at C4A through their eyes.
What is your C4A experience like so far?
Ian: “It’s been challenging as a first co-op work term student, but highly rewarding through getting exposure to numerous projects/repos, technologies, and processes. People are knowledgeable and friendly. The work environment is prone to collaboration.”
Nicolas: “I enjoy working in the start-up-like environment where everything feels more connected.”
Waleed: “My experience so far has been super positive and at times, challenging enough to the point where I’m forced to take a step back and improve my skills/knowledge. Even though I am working remotely, I have several coworkers who are always happy to help and that has helped shape my experience so far as well. I appreciate the general work culture of working hard but also being light-hearted at times, it is a nice balance to have in a professional environment.”
Blake: “So far, my time at Crypto4A has been great. The work has been interesting, and everyone is very friendly. Lots of people come into the office every day which I appreciate, as it always makes lunchtime better.”
Bradley: “I have really enjoyed my experience so far. All of the staff are helpful and welcoming which makes working in the office a very enjoyable experience. The work is very interesting and the experience feels like it will positively impact me for the rest of my career. I am looking forward to another term to learn more and sharpen the skills that I have learned so far.”
Joey: “Amazing. I love the people in the organization and the work environment. Everyone is always helpful, respectful, and genuinely kind. Learning is always put at the forefront, and you’re given plenty of time to get familiar with the product and life-cycle before diving in. I’ve recommended applying to work at C4A to all my friends and even strangers.”
What cool projects are you working on?
Ian: “I have been part of the apps team, led by Olivier. I’ve mainly been working on the QxConsole app, adding automated testing and small features to enhance the reliability and user experience.”
Nicolas: “Working with implementation between bcoop and YubiKeys is the coolest in my opinion that I am working on.”
Waleed: ” Currently, I have been focusing on two main projects. The first is setting up the monitoring station for our QxEdge and emulator devices, and writing scripts to test the log-sending functionality of the monitoring station. This will now transition to implementing new features in the monitoring station as well as setting up automated testing for it on Jenkins. The second has been to revive some of our Jenkins tests by looking at the error logs, troubleshooting, and fixing bugs.”
Blake: “I am just finishing up a project where I explored and experimented with the file system on the HSM to determine what parts of reading and writing files took the longest, and then used what I learned to optimize the way we add, modify, and delete keys and other objects.”
Bradley: “The main project I have had is creating an automated test for the upgrade assistant as well as scripts to help developers upgrade and run service tests on remote platforms. I am now looking at building a PCIe driver for the TCMx.”
Joey: “Implementing the Upgrade Assistant within the QxConsole was a highlight during my time at C4A. I felt like it was an impactful project, and I learned a lot from implementing it. It also enabled me to learn a little bit more of the HSM life-cycle and how we’re developing ways to improve our product. Not to forget, working on the Upgrade Assistant allowed me to talk and connect with a lot of people from other departments.”
How do you see your experience at C4A impacting your future career?
Ian: “It’s given me a great example of the work-life within a small company, which I really enjoy. It’s provided me tools and skills that I could not learn in school, and which will serve me well as I progress.”
Nicolas: “It helped me gain more experience in security-related software development which is important since it is the area I want to pursue in my future career.”
Waleed: ” Gaining valuable development experience in software like docker, Jenkins, python scripting, etc at C4A has shown me a strong career path for my future, which focuses on backend development. This is invaluable as it gives me clearer goals and milestones, as well as helping me focus my efforts.”
Blake: “I think that getting more experience in firmware development will make me a more well-rounded developer, and having some knowledge of cryptography and security is always an asset.”
Bradley: “This is my first co-op so C4A has given me a solid foundation for being in a professional environment. Though not the focus of my projects, I have learned a lot about cryptography and security as well.”
Joey: “There are two aspects that I can see helping my future career:
- Experience from working at a startup: There is something about having whole ownership over a feature that has improved my abilities to adapt and overcome any hurdles that are thrown my way. Looking back at it all today, I feel like I have gained a renewed sense of confidence in my development skills. I’ve also developed a keen sense of agility and resilience, learning to pivot quickly in response to feedback or shifting requirements. Overall, this experience has not only enhanced my technical expertise but has also strengthened my ability to manage projects independently and drive impactful results.
- Experience working in the Security space: Learning about the products that Crypto4A are developing has opened me up to a whole industry that had never caught my attention before. I feel like my knowledge of HSMs and other core products has deepened significantly, and I now have a robust understanding of the intricate security measures needed to protect sensitive data. This exposure has not only broadened my technical skill set but has also given me a new perspective on the importance of security in technology.”
What skills have you gained or improved during your co-op experience?
Ian: “Understanding how to set up a development environment, using the run/debug in the IDE to properly troubleshoot an issue or test code changes, working with docker containers, writing test scripts in Python, understanding and updating bash shell scripts, reading documentation, researching online forums for answers.”
Nicolas: “Working with more experienced colleagues helped me improve my development skills in larger-scale software development which I have not done much of before.”
Waleed: “The ability to write clean and maintainable code, which fits into the company’s existing code base. Knowing when and how to ask others for assistance, as well as learning how to communicate effectively. Problem-solving when given a task, starting from designing a solution all the way to implementing and testing it.”
Blake: “Given the secure nature of the work, one thing I have really improved on is making sure my code is totally air-tight. Good coding practices and thinking about the best way to do something make sure that there is no way for an attacker to exploit the code that I write.”
Bradley: “I have become much more familiar with Python and bash scripting which have great versatility in programming. I also have learned a lot about Jenkins and how these CI/CD pipelines operate which was a goal of mine when I first started.”
Joey: “Having whole ownership over a feature has significantly enhanced my ability to adapt and overcome challenges, boosting my confidence in my development skills. I’ve strengthened my knowledge of React and APIs, which has allowed me to build more dynamic and efficient applications. Additionally, I’ve picked up Typescript as a new language.”
What hobbies do you have? How do you balance work and personal life while working at C4A?
Ian: Gardening, golfing, movies, hiking.
Nicolas: Track and field and biking mostly in the summer. The flexible hours make it easy to balance work and personal life.
Waleed: Basketball and tennis, reading fiction, listening to podcasts, cooking/baking, gaming, as well as working out.
I find that working remotely gives me more time in the day before and after work to do the things I enjoy, but it is harder to stay focused the entire day when I am working on everything in a solo environment. I find that balancing work and personal life involves creating separate spaces for both, as well as taking the time to see friends etc.
Blake: I moved to Ottawa for the summer to work at C4A, and have gotten involved with lots of sport groups. I play a random assortment of sports on Thursdays through the Ottawa Sport and Social Club, as well as soccer on Sundays and occasionally softball on Tuesdays. I have also started to go rock climbing with friends I have made through work.
Bradley: I do a lot of printmaking in my spare time and go to see movies every week with friends. I am also taking a drawing class through the city of Ottawa currently.
Joey: When I am not busy being an active member in multiple school clubs, I take up gaming as a hobby. Management at Crypto4A allows you to have a flexible schedule, which has enabled me to start work earlier to attend any school events or even appointments! Overall maintaining a strong work-life balance at Crypto4A is really easy.
What’s a fun fact about yourself?
Ian: I decided to change career and now at 40 years old, I am back to being a first year co-op student.
Nicolas: Raced FIS snowboard cross.
Waleed: As far as I’m aware, I’m the only intern from UofT!
Blake: I went to the same high school as James Gosling, who created the Java programming language.
Bradley: I only won my first match (1 out of 10) in my entire high school wrestling career but that one win landed me a gold medal.
Joey: I am a Triplet!