Originally published on the CVFit blog.
I'm Momin, founder of CVFit in Ottawa. I build a tool that tailors a resume to a specific job using only work you have actually done — and I run a live index of tech jobs across the city. This is the city-specific version of "tech jobs Ottawa": where the jobs are, who's posting right now, how the public/private split works here, what security clearance means for a civilian applicant, and what changed in job postings as of January 2026.
CVFit is independent. We're not affiliated with Invest Ottawa, the Kanata North Business Association or any employer named below.
Ottawa's tech market, in one paragraph
Ottawa is a federal government town first, and that shapes its private tech sector: some local companies sell into government and defence contracts, and plenty of engineers weigh public-service and private-sector jobs side by side. The other defining feature is geography — a big share of the city's tech employers sit in one place, Kanata North, which its business association calls Canada's largest technology park.
Kanata North and the rest of the city
Kanata North is the single biggest concentration of tech employers in the city. Per the Kanata North Business Association, the park has 540+ companies and 33,000 employees, and contributes more than $13 billion a year to Canada's GDP. The association's strategic plan highlights recent investments by Nokia (including a cybersecurity R&D campus), Ericsson, Wind River and Dell, and member companies in emerging sectors like clean tech, AI, fintech and healthcare.
Outside Kanata, tech employers are spread across downtown and the rest of the city, and some Ottawa-listed roles are remote. Check the location line on each posting before you plan a commute.
Who's hiring: tech jobs in Ottawa right now
A snapshot, not a ranking: in November 2026, employers posting on CVFit's Ottawa page included:
- Broadcom — staff and principal hardware and software engineering roles on March Road
- Solace — from a Junior Software Developer role up to Principal Software Developer
- Pleora Technologies — Software Developer
- Solink — including a Software Engineer Co-op
- Ranovus — optical and verification engineering
- MindBridge AI — data science, data engineering and QA automation
- Corsa Security, Intouch Insight, RBR and Assent Compliance — sales, software, QA and other roles
That list changes daily as postings open and close, so check the live page for what's open today.
Public sector vs. private sector
Ottawa is one of the few Canadian cities where "government job" and "tech job" genuinely overlap. If you're weighing both paths:
- Public sector (federal IT): Government of Canada IT roles use the IT-01 through IT-05 classification system, with a defined process involving GC Jobs, screening against essential qualifications, and often a long timeline. We cover this in detail in our guide to Government of Canada IT jobs in Ottawa — including current pay by level and how the application process works.
- Private sector: Faster-moving hiring, and more variation in process and pay by company.
Nothing stops you from applying to both at once — and given how long federal hiring can take, many people do.
Security clearance and controlled goods
Because some of Ottawa's private tech sector works on government and defence contracts, you'll see security requirements in some private-sector postings too, not just federal ones.
Two distinct things get bundled together under "clearance," and postings aren't always precise about which one they mean:
- Government security screening (Reliability Status, Secret, Top Secret) — required for federal roles and for private-sector roles supporting certain federal contracts. Covered in detail in our Government of Canada IT jobs guide.
- Controlled Goods Program (CGP) security assessment — a separate requirement run by Public Services and Procurement Canada. Companies that examine, possess or transfer "controlled goods" (certain defence-related goods and technology) must register, and their employees — including temporary workers and international students — must be security-assessed, usually by the company's designated official, before they can access those goods. An approved assessment is valid for up to five years while you stay with the same organization; it doesn't transfer to a new employer.
If a posting mentions either requirement and you're unsure whether you'd qualify, ask the employer early rather than assuming your application was simply ignored.
Pay transparency in Ontario postings (2026)
As of January 1, 2026, Ontario employers with 25 or more employees have new rules for publicly advertised job postings, including the ones you'll see for Ottawa tech roles. Per Ontario's Employment Standards Act guide, postings must include:
- The expected pay, or a pay range — and the range can't span more than $50,000 a year (this doesn't apply once the pay, or the top of the range, is above $200,000 a year).
- Whether artificial intelligence is used to screen, assess or select applicants.
- Whether the posting is for an existing vacancy or not.
Postings also can't require Canadian experience, and if you're interviewed, the employer has to tell you within 45 days whether a hiring decision has been made.
None of this obligates an employer to pay within the posted range — it governs what has to appear in the ad, not what you'll be offered. But it does mean postings from employers with 25+ staff for Ontario-based roles should now show a real number, which is useful when you're deciding which roles are worth your time.
Where to search for tech jobs in Ottawa
- CVFit's live Ottawa index — 500+ tech roles sourced from employer job boards and regional tech networks, updated daily. Filter by keyword or use the natural-language job search. For other cities, see tech jobs across Canada.
- Invest Ottawa's Tech Job Finder — openings across the Invest Ottawa network.
- Discover Technata's job board — openings across the Discover Technata network, another Ottawa-focused board worth checking alongside the national sites.
- Company career pages directly, especially for the larger Kanata North employers — some openings may only appear there.
How to get noticed
Ottawa tech postings, especially in telecom and defence-adjacent companies, often list specific technical requirements in dense, acronym-heavy language. Mirror the posting's own wording rather than paraphrasing it — if the posting says "RF" or names a specific protocol, use that exact term, not a general synonym. Some employers also use software to screen applications; under the new Ontario rules, the posting has to tell you if AI is used.
If you want help checking whether your résumé covers what a specific posting asks for, paste both into CVFit's match tool — it shows your match score and the top missing requirements, with every match backed by a quote from your own CV. To rework your CV for one role, tailor your CV to the job description.
Early-career routes
If you're newer to the market, Ottawa has routes into tech that don't require years of private-sector experience first:
- Federal co-op and student programs (FSWEP, Post-Secondary Co-op/Internship, the IT Apprenticeship Program) — covered in our Government of Canada IT jobs guide.
- Private-sector co-op, junior and technician roles — on November 3, 2026, for example, our Ottawa page listed a Software Engineer Co-op at Solink and a Junior Software Developer role at Solace.
FAQ
Is Ottawa a good city for tech jobs outside of government? Yes — Kanata North alone has 540+ companies and 33,000 employees, per its business association, with big names like Nokia and Ericsson and newer firms in AI, fintech and clean tech. It's a smaller market than Toronto or Vancouver, but it's dense rather than thin.
Do I need a security clearance to work in Ottawa tech? Only for specific roles — typically ones supporting federal or defence work. Government security screening (Reliability Status, Secret, Top Secret) and a Controlled Goods Program security assessment are two separate requirements that sometimes both apply. Many private-sector roles need neither; check the posting.
What changed in Ottawa job postings in 2026? As of January 1, 2026, Ontario employers with 25+ employees must show expected pay or a range (no wider than $50,000, with an exception above $200,000), say whether AI is used in screening and whether the job is an existing vacancy, drop Canadian-experience requirements, and tell interviewed applicants within 45 days whether a hiring decision was made.
Does CVFit have a list of Ottawa employers? CVFit indexes live postings at /jobs/canada/ottawa rather than keeping a static employer directory — the list changes as postings open and close. For other cities, browse tech jobs across Canada.
Browse live tech jobs in Ottawa, then paste a posting and your CV into CVFit to see your match score and gaps — every match is backed by a quote from your résumé. 1 month of Pro free, no credit card.
Read the original post on CVFit: Tech Jobs in Ottawa: Who's Hiring
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