Technical Solutions Engineer – Data Center PON
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.
How You Will Contribute:
As a Technical Solutions Engineer at Ciena Corporation, you will help deliver and support innovative solutions for next-generation Data Center Out-of-Band Management (DCOM) networks built on Passive Optical Networking (PON) technology. These solutions are designed to support the rapidly growing infrastructure needs of AI hyperscalers and neoscalers.
In this customer-focused technical role, you will work closely with cross-functional teams—including product management, engineering, and customer deployment teams—to ensure that Ciena ’s DCOM PON solutions deliver high performance, reliability, and operational simplicity.
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Gather and analyze requirements for next-generation routing and switching software solutions supporting 10Gbps PON network technologies and applications for Layer 2 and Layer 3 data networking across a wide range of switch and host platforms.
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Provide technical expertise and solution guidance for Ciena ’s SAOS embedded PON software and platforms, helping enable new customers and markets while accelerating time-to-market for Ciena ’s Data Center PON products.
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Work closely with customers and internal stakeholders to translate networking requirements into scalable and operationally efficient solutions.
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Collaborate across the entire software and solution lifecycle, including requirements analysis, integration, verification, solution validation, and customer support.
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Support deployment and operational readiness of PON-based data center management networks, ensuring best practices in reliability, scalability, and security.
- Contribute to continuous improvement of Ciena ’s DCOM PON capabilities and overall customer experience.
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Proactively identifying and resolving technical challenges through solution analysis, recommendation, and execution, while aligning internal and external stakeholders
The Must Haves:
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Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent, with 7+ years of relevant industry experience.
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Strong hands-on experience with Passive Optical Networking (PON) technologies including OLT and ONT/ONU, and broadband access architectures such as FTTx.
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Solid understanding of Layer 2 and Layer 3 networking, including Ethernet, VLAN, QoS, IPv4, IPv6, and switching and routing in access networks.
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Experience working with network management and automation interfaces, including NETCONF/YANG, gRPC/gNMI, telemetry, and REST APIs.
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Demonstrated ability to work effectively with remote and globally distributed teams.
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Strong interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills, with the ability to engage both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
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Experience supporting or designing network solutions for complex environments such as large enterprise or data center infrastructures.
Assets:
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Familiarity with containerized and modern network architectures, including Docker, SDN, NFV, and disaggregated networking solutions.
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Experience with database technologies, preferably MongoDB or JSON-based databases.
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Knowledge of secure networking technologies, including SSH, TLS, and X.509 certificates.
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Experience supporting data center networking environments, particularly those used by hyperscale or large cloud infrastructure operators.
The annual pay range for this position is $115,500 - $184,500 CAD.
The annual pay range for this position in California is $148, 200 - $236,800 USD
Pay ranges at Ciena are designed to accommodate variations in knowledge, skills, experience, market conditions, and locations, reflecting our diverse product