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.
As a global leader in high-speed connectivity, Ciena brings a people-first mindset to advancing how the world connects. This role plays a critical part in expanding Ciena’s Routing and Switching footprint by shaping customer architectures and influencing long-term technology direction. The position combines deep technical leadership with customer engagement to drive sustainable growth across service provider, utility, and MSO markets.
How you will make an impact:
- Partner with regional account teams to deliver engineering and architectural leadership across assigned customers
- Lead advanced network architecture discussions that align Ciena’s routing and switching strategy with customer business and technical objectives
- Execute technical sales activities including product demonstrations, proofs of concept, lab trials, RFP responses, and complex network designs
- Engage customer stakeholders ranging from engineering teams to executive leadership to influence technology direction and solution adoption
- Collaborate with sales, engineering, PLM, and R&D teams to position solutions and capture new and expanding business opportunities
- Provide structured feedback to PLM and R&D on customer requirements, competitive insights, and technology gaps
- Travel or engage virtually across the United States to build and maintain strong customer and account team relationships
The must haves:
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or Computer Science, or relevant experience
- Experience: 10+ years of telecommunication industry experience
- Application of routing and switching technologies across core, aggregation, and access networks, including automation, data center interconnect, campus networking, AI, and edge technologies
- Utilization of multi-layer network architectures including IP, Segment Routing, MPLS, MPLS-TP, and Carrier Ethernet
- Application of routing and switching protocols such as BGP, OSPF, IS-IS, IGRP, G.8032, 802.1ag, and RFC 2544/1564 testing methodologies
- Background in service provider network deployments and architectures
- Background working within utility and MSO network environments
- Hands-on systems-level technical capability with the ability to learn and apply new networking concepts quickly
- Demonstrated leadership of technical sales activities including RFPs, trials, and product acceptance processes
- Ability to collaborate effectively with sales teams and cross-functional internal organizations including R&D, Engineering, and PLM
- Strong organizational skills to manage multiple concurrent initiatives in a dynamic environment
- Clear verbal and written communication skills with customers, partners, and internal stakeholders
Nice to haves:
- Background in software design or development using technologies such as Linux, C/C++, Java, Python, REST, JSON, SDN, or virtualization platforms
- Exposure to backbone long-haul transport, metro DWDM, optical networking evolution, and packet transport technologies
- Prior experience contributing to vendor-based sales account teams
- Ability to integrate into and contribute within high-performing technical sales teams
- Demonstrated capability to manage priorities with minimal supervision
- Experience influencing technology strategy through customer and industry engagement
- Willingness to travel extensively or engage virtually to support customer and business needs
Pay Range:
The annual total target compensation pay range for this position is $204,200 - $326,200 USD. This includes both base and incentive compensation.
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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.
Skills Required
- 10+ years telecommunication industry experience
- Technical Degree; BS in Engineering or Computer Science or relevant experience
- Expert level knowledge of multi-layer network architectures (IP, SR, MPLS & Carrier Ethernet)
- Strong understanding of routing/switching, automation, and emerging Edge technologies
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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