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’s Interconnects Operations team is looking for a Technical NPI Project Manager to drive the successful introduction and industrialization of our next-generation optical products at our manufacturing partner site in Thailand.
This role enables the successful industrialization and launch of advanced optical networking products by bridging engineering and manufacturing. The position focuses on driving new product introduction (NPI), yield improvement, and production readiness at a manufacturing partner site. The impact directly supports scalable, high-volume production that powers global communications infrastructure.
How you will make an impact:
Lead new optical product introduction from development through high-volume production ramp
Develop project plans, schedules, milestones, dependencies, and risk mitigation strategies
Drive cross-functional NPI program execution across operations, manufacturing, engineering, quality, supply chain, and R&D
Ensure alignment of stakeholders and timely completion of lifecycle deliverables
Partner with contract manufacturers to enable production readiness and manufacturing transitions
Analyze yield losses, production bottlenecks, and manufacturing issues to drive corrective actions
Facilitate communication between manufacturing and R&D to enable design and process improvements
The must haves:
Education: Master’s degree OR Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Optical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related technical discipline
Experience: 5+ years of experience in New Product Introduction (NPI), Technical Program Management, Product Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Process Engineering, or Operations Program Management
Experience supporting products through prototype, pilot, and production ramp phases
Application of manufacturing operations and product industrialization processes
Collaboration with cross-functional engineering teams to resolve production issues
Working knowledge of optical networking products, optical transceivers, optical modules, optical interconnects, optical splicing products, or related photonics or telecommunications hardware
Application of yield analysis, root cause investigation, and process improvement methodologies
Nice to haves:
Experience with optical communications, telecommunications, networking, photonics, or semiconductor products
Experience working with contract manufacturing partners such as Fabrinet, Celestica, Jabil, Flex, or Foxconn
Familiarity with manufacturing quality systems and continuous improvement methodologies
Exposure to Agile project management practices
Certifications: PMP certification
Experience supporting global teams across operations, engineering, and manufacturing environments
#LI-SG1
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
- Master's degree OR Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Electronics, Optical, Manufacturing Engineering or related technical discipline
- 5+ years experience in New Product Introduction (NPI), Technical Program Management, Product Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Process Engineering, or Operations Program Management
- Experience supporting products through prototype, pilot, and production ramp phases
- Application of manufacturing operations and product industrialization processes
- Collaboration with cross-functional engineering teams to resolve production issues
- Working knowledge of optical networking products, optical transceivers, optical modules, optical interconnects, optical splicing products, photonics, or related telecommunications hardware
- Application of yield analysis, root cause investigation, and process improvement methodologies
- Experience with optical communications, telecommunications, networking, photonics, or semiconductor products
- Experience working with contract manufacturing partners (e.g., Fabrinet, Celestica, Jabil, Flex, Foxconn)
- Familiarity with manufacturing quality systems and continuous improvement methodologies
- Exposure to Agile project management practices
- PMP certification
- Experience supporting global teams across operations, engineering, and manufacturing 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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
Gallery
