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 seeking a highly skilled Product Line Manager (PLM) to help drive innovation strategy, definition, and growth of our Routing portfolio with a focus on the expanding role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Service Provider networks. This role requires deep expertise in IP technologies, network architectures, and emerging AI‑enabled operational and service models. The successful candidate will work collaboratively within Ciena’s broader PLM organization to ensure that new requirements—market‑driven, customer‑driven, and AI‑driven—are reflected in the integrated Ciena IP Routing product roadmap to unlock new business opportunities.
The Must Haves:
- Identify, evaluate, and define innovative IP solution opportunities that drive meaningful differentiation and growth for Ciena. Includes the use of both qualitative and quantitative-based analysis tools/techniques.
- Engage with global Service Providers to understand network evolution, AI-driven operational models, new service constructs, and strategic investment trends. Identify lead customers, drive Proof of Concept (POC) creation, delivery and solution adoption.
- Partner closely with the broader PLM organization to align new routing innovation solution requirements with Ciena’s portfolio roadmap, ensuring cohesive solution delivery across product families.
- Work with PLM / Engineering to translate innovation/market needs into detailed product requirements and into a cohesive roadmap.
- Provide thought leadership in the areas of how AI and advanced routing technologies enable new network capabilities, operational efficiencies, and revenue-generating services.
- Track competitive developments and industry trends in AI-based networking, automation frameworks, and IP routing to validate and refine roadmap direction.
- Produce high-quality content—roadmap narratives, whitepapers, presentations, and value propositions—to support customer engagement and sales enablement.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related technical field; advanced degree preferred.
- 7+ years of experience in Product Management or technical strategy leadership within routing, networking, telecom, or cloud infrastructure.
Deep understanding of:
- IP routing protocols (OSPF, IS‑IS, BGP, MPLS, Segment Routing (SR-MPLS/SRv6), multicast, QoS, VXLAN)
- Service Provider architectures (core, metro, access, edge, cloud, DCI), Cloud/AI DC architectures
- AI-driven networking use cases (predictive analytics, anomaly detection, automated optimization, intent-based operations, traffic forecasting)
- Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively and drive alignment across product teams/portfolios.
- Strong communication, strategic thinking, and multi‑level presentation skills (Engineering to Executive).
The Nice To Haves:
- Experience defining routing solutions or AI/automation-driven network capabilities.
- Clear track record of defining innovative solutions and driving them to adoption within Service Provider organizations.
- Direct engagement experience with Tier-1/2 Service Providers, especially on automation or AI‑related initiatives.
- Familiarity with ML analytics platforms, data pipelines, telemetry systems, and cloud-native architectures.
What You’ll Bring
You combine deep networking expertise with a forward‑looking understanding of how AI is reshaping Service Provider networks and service creation. You thrive in collaborative environments, ensuring that new requirements and innovations are successfully integrated into the broader Ciena roadmap—ultimately driving differentiated solutions and accelerating business growth.
The annual pay range for this position is $114,100 - $182,300 CAD
Pay ranges at Ciena are designed to accommodate variations in knowledge, skills, experience, market conditions, and locations, reflecting our diverse products, industries, and lines of business. Please note that the pay range information provided in this posting pertains specifically to the primary location, which is the top location listed in case multiple locations are available.
Non-Sales employees may be eligible for a discretionary incentive bonus, while Sales employees may be eligible for a sales commission. In addition to competitive compensation, Ciena offers a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, and vision plans, participation in 401(K) (USA) & DCPP (Canada) with company matching, Employee Stock Purchase Program (ESPP), Employee Assistance Program (EAP), company-paid holidays, paid sick leave, and vacation time. We also comply with all applicable laws regarding Paid Family Leave and other leaves of absence.
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.
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.
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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
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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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