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.
Account Management Specialist – Strategic Markets
(Northeast & Central US)
As a Specialist in Ciena’s Strategic Markets hub, you are the catalyst for our next phase of growth. Your mandate is new logo acquisition within the Fortune 100, Healthcare/Pharma, and Neocloud (Tier-2) sectors. You will lead the charge in establishing Ciena’s presence from the ground up in accounts where we currently have no footprint, positioning our infrastructure as the essential foundation for AI fabrics and next-generation data centers.
How Will You Contribute:
- Enterprise Expansion: Breaking into net-new F100 accounts to displace incumbents and establish long-term partnerships.
- AI Leadership: Establishing Ciena as the "connective tissue" for AI scale, specifically targeting early adopters in the Healthcare/Pharma vertical.
- Neocloud Disruption: Partnering with neoscalers to power niche market expansions and data center infrastructure advancements.
Must Haves:
- Greenfield Business Development: Execute a grassroots sales strategy to identify, qualify, and win net-new logos across the Northeast and Central US.
- Executive Relationship Management: Navigate complex F100 organizational structures to build credibility and influence with C-suite and senior IT leadership.
- Strategic Alignment: Map Ciena’s Optical and Data solutions to the specific business objectives of Fortune 100 and Healthcare enterprises.
- Cross-Functional Leadership: Orchestrate internal resources—including SEs, Product Management, and Executive Leadership—to deliver winning proposals for large-scale solutions.
- Market Intelligence: Maintain a deep understanding of the competitive landscape to effectively differentiate Ciena’s value proposition in the AI and Neocloud space.
- New Logo Expertise: A proven track record of capturing market share and winning accounts from a standing start.
- Strategic Sales Acumen: 5+ years of experience in large-scale solution sales (F100 focus/healthcare preferred) with the ability to manage long, complex sales cycles.
- Industry Knowledge: Familiarity with Networking sales, Optical knowledge is a plus, but the ability to translate technology into business value is paramount.
- Territory Command: Deep professional network or demonstrated ability to penetrate the Northeast and Central US enterprise markets.
- Personal Drive: Highly self-motivated with the discipline to work independently and the cultural fit to collaborate within a high-performance team.
- Communication: Exceptional presentation skills and the "executive presence" required to lead high-stakes boardroom discussions.
- Education: 4-year degree (Business or Technical) or equivalent relevant work experience.
Why Join Ciena Strategic Markets?
This is a high-visibility role within a specialized "growth hub." You will have the agility of a startup environment backed by the global resources of a networking leader, with a direct impact on Ciena’s most critical strategic pillars.
The annual total target compensation pay range for this position is $200,400 - $320,000 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.
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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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