As the global leader in high-speed connectivity, Ciena is committed to a people-first approach. Our teams enjoy a culture focused on prioritizing a flexible work environment that empowers individual growth, well-being, and belonging. We’re a technology company that leads with our humanity—driving our business priorities alongside meaningful social, community, and societal impact.
Ciena is advancing intelligent, automated networks through its Blue Planet portfolio by enabling data-driven innovation and AI-powered operations. This role leads the definition of data strategy, architecture, and productization for telecom data, enabling scalable digital twin capabilities and data platforms that support next-generation network operations. The position plays a critical role in aligning data foundations with AI, automation, and product innovation across the portfolio.
How you will make an impact:
Define and own the canonical telco data model and ontology across network topology, service lifecycle, inventory, assurance, and OSS domains
Align data models with industry standards including TM Forum Open APIs, SID/eTOM, Open Digital Architecture, YANG/NETCONF, and TOSCA
Drive adoption of ontology models across product teams as the semantic foundation for data exchange, AI training, and digital twin deployment
Develop and lead the data fabric product architecture, including federated access, streaming pipelines, virtualization, metadata management, and lineage tracking
Translate data architecture vision into scalable, cloud-native and microservices-based implementations in collaboration with engineering teams
Define and deliver the telco digital twin strategy, including use cases such as network optimization, predictive maintenance, and simulation
Engage with customers, partners, and industry forums to validate solutions, influence standards, and position the portfolio in the market
The must haves:
Education: Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or Software Engineering with telecommunications, networking, or communications systems concentration, or equivalent experience
Experience: 15+ years of experience in the telecom software industry with at least 5+ years of product line management experience
Application of telecom data modeling, schema design, graph or ontology structures, and enterprise data management tools
Application of AI and ML data requirements including feature stores, training data pipelines, data lineage, and model grounding techniques for GenAI or LLM use cases
Background in OSS environments including network automation, orchestration, inventory, assurance, and network management systems
Exposure to telecom network domains including fixed, mobile or RAN, and cable or MSO across core, transport, and access layers
Experience introducing complex technical products or architectures into Tier-1 CSP or network provider environments
Nice to haves:
Background in cloud-native architectures including Kubernetes, microservices, and cloud data platforms
Exposure to multi-cloud environments
Collaboration across engineering, product management, marketing, and field organizations
Engagement with industry analysts and participation in analyst briefings
Contribution to industry forums such as TM Forum, MEF, ETSI, or ONF
Development of technical content including whitepapers, blogs, or conference presentations
Support of go-to-market strategy and product positioning
#LI-ST1
At Ciena, we are committed to building and fostering an environment in which our employees feel respected, valued, and heard. Ciena values the diversity of its workforce and respects its employees as individuals. We do not tolerate any form of discrimination.
Ciena is an Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability and protected veteran status.
If contacted in relation to a job opportunity, please advise Ciena of any accommodation measures you may require.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering or Software Engineering
- 15+ years of experience in telecom software
- 5+ years of product line management experience
- Application of telecom data modeling and enterprise data management tools
- Application of AI and ML data requirements
- Background in OSS environments
- Experience introducing complex technical products into Tier-1 CSP environments
Ciena Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Ciena and has not been reviewed or approved by Ciena.
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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Pay is often characterized as competitive or above-market in certain roles and regions, with references to market-aligned salary ranges and transparency around pay bands.
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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage is frequently framed as comprehensive, including medical, dental, and vision, with indications that coverage can extend to dependents and is viewed as a meaningful component of total rewards.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time-off offerings are described as flexible and generous, including Flex/uncapped PTO in many cases and additional paid time for volunteering.
Ciena Insights
What We Do
Ciena (NYSE: CIEN) is a global leader in networking systems, services, and software. We build the world’s most adaptive networks to enable our customers to deliver richer, more connected experiences for all users. At our core, Ciena is a company rooted in people. We prioritize deep, collaborative relationships within our teams and alongside our customers, partners, and communities around the world. For three-plus decades, we’ve brought our humanity to our relentless pursuit of innovation. We continue to lead the evolution of networking with a strong track record of industry firsts. As end-user expectations skyrocket, our customers and their networks must transform. Ciena powers this transformation by driving next-generation solutions built for maximum openness and agility—today and into the future. Corporate/Brand Values: • Customer First • Integrity • Velocity • Innovation • Outstanding People We're the perfect size for you to make an impact. W Only Ciena has the depth of expertise and the culture of collaboration and partnership required to help our partners evolve. We do this by strategically integrating hardware, services, and software in an open environment to ensure our clients’ networks are ‘fit for flexibility’ today and into the f
Why Work With Us
We are known for our industry-firsts, including the first coherent optical solution, converged packet-optical platform, and intelligence automation platform. Our commitment extends beyond innovation, logging in over 35,000 volunteer hours and $2 million to worthy causes in 2023. We're the perfect size and culture for you to make a difference.
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