Senior Sales Engineer

Ciena is committed to our people-first philosophy. Our teams enjoy a culture focused on prioritizing a personalized and flexible work environment that empowers an individual’s passions, growth, wellbeing and belonging. We’re a technology company that leads with our humanity—driving our business priorities alongside meaningful social, community, and societal impact.

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POSITION SUMMARY:

Customer-facing technical systems/sales engineer focused on utilities, state government and other government entities (i.e. Department of Transportations). Develops and maintains relationships with customer network planning, engineering, architecture, IT and operations personnel. Leads technical assignments, including customer meetings, RFX strategy, written proposals, network designs, product configuration engineering and sales quotes. Must be able to lead solution discussions with customers and drive internal meetings within Ciena. This individual will perform essential duties and responsibilities as indicated below with limited supervision and provide mentorship to junior members of the Field Sales Systems Engineering staff.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Lead technical engagements with customers during Sales meetings; gather, analyze, and evaluate networking requirements
• Consult with potential and current customers on application of CIENA solutions for next generation architectures
• Develop advanced uses cases for next generation converged architecture applications
• Perform network modeling, create detailed solution drawings including rack face and system connectivity diagrams using MS Visio
• Develop complex network designs, application engineering, quotes, and presentations for Adaptive Network solutions
• Create accurate and timely presales product configurations/pricing, lead responses for RFPs and responses to customer technical inquiries
• Lead meetings with Sales, PLM, and Marketing teams to develop and/or propose product enhancements to meet customer requirements
• Participate in SE/PLM focus groups identifying future product needs and discussing potential solution alternatives
• Provide mentorship and feedback to junior members of the Sales Systems Engineering staff
• 30-50% travel required for internal and customer facing meetings
• Performs other duties as assigned

SKILLS:

• Excellent listening, learning, problem solving, relationship building and follow-up skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication, interpersonal and presentation skills
• Excellent PC and Microsoft Office application skills required, Unix knowledge important and automation programming a plus
• Proficient in use of Ciena network modeling, design, quoting tools, Zoom and Teams environments, SalesForce and Sharepoint tools
• Technical expertise in telecom, fiber optic transmission systems (SONET, OTN, WDM, ROADMs), network architectures and management.
• Technical expertise in data networking including Carrier Ethernet, IP/MPLS, Segment Routing, EVPN and other IGP/EGP/transport/service networking protocols and IP network architectures
• Experience supporting enterprise customer base
• Understanding of legacy networking options (SONET, TDM, circuit emulation)
• Familiarity in test equipment (power meters, traffic generators, OSA’s, OTDR’s, etc) configuration and automation, understands results
• Support for Data Center Interconnection (High density network, leaf and spine architectures, Fibre Channel SAN networking)
• Familiarity with SDN, network virtualization as well as Public, Private and Edge cloud solutions
• Familiarity with 4G and 5G wireless networking, xRAN and front/mid/backhaul network systems
• Familiarity with automation, analytics, and AI usage in networking operations
• Strong teaching skills of customers as well as internal Ciena personnel
• Flexible, able to handle multiple tasks and multiple customer relationships with limited supervision

DESIRED CHARACTERISTICS:

• Motivated technical individual that enjoys working in Sales for applications of advanced networking solutions
• Humble and confident, enjoys customer engagements, enjoys competition, solid team member, team leader and mentor
• Continued curiosity about many things (technology, people, business, best practices) and desire to improve existing knowledge
• Develops and maintains strategic customer relationships and work well with multiple customer organizations
• Ability to demonstrate expertise, creativity, consultancy, and leadership during technical sales activities
• Ability to conduct professional customer meetings, understand their networks, applications, business drivers,
  challenges, construct technical solutions to meet those requirements and articulate implementation and migration strategies
• Seeks career development opportunities and volunteers for assignments that will stretch their understanding of Ciena solutions
• Ability to work effectively with members of the Systems Engineering, Sales, Services, PLM, R&D, HR and Management teams
• Manages time appropriately, knows when to lead, when to mentor and knows when to escalate
• Comfortable traveling and independently meeting with customers

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE:

• Bachelors Degree in Engineering (BSEE preferred) or Computer Science or relevant experience
• 7 - 10+ years telecommunication industry experience
• Prior experience as a contributor on a sales account team or relevant experience
• Routing, Switching and Cloud certifications a plus

The annual total target compensation pay range for this position is $143,500 - $229,600 USD. This includes both base and incentive compensation. (For Sales roles that are TTC in the Salary Range Tool)

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.

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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.