Consulting Solution Engineer

Ciena • Petaluma, CA

2d • $169,100 - $270,100 • Remote

About The Position

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. Strategic, sales and customer-facing consulting engineer combining the highest levels of proficiency in routing & switching (including hands-on depth) with the ability to articulate solution differentiation and business value. Operates alongside S3/SE/PLM in high-visibility customer engagements, mentors multiple TSEs, and serves as a sought-after resource for internal and external stakeholders.

Requirements

• Broad multi-domain networking expertise; strong awareness of competitive landscape and positioning.
• Exceptional communication, storytelling, and negotiation skills; executive presence.
• Ability to connect technical capabilities to business outcomes and ROI.
• Experience 15+ years; proven record influencing strategic customer decisions and driving adoption.
• Bachelor’s degree (EE/CS/E&C) or equivalent; thought-leadership contributions preferred (public speaking, publications).

Responsibilities

• Own consultative engagements end-to-end: discovery, architecture advocacy, test-plan influence, and value articulation.
• Lead strategic trials, capture outcomes and learnings, and translate them into adoption-driving collateral.
• Evangelize solution differentiation and drive corresponding solution implementation for customer demo lab.
• Shape portfolio strategy through competitive insights and standards participation; publish patents/white papers.
• Work closely with SE&I leadership to identify SVS opportunities and position value to Ciena customers , helping to drive adoption of SVS.
• Lead the process of providing SE&I inputs into PLM during release planning process
• Prime the incubation of new products/solutions targeted at large market opportunities, and lead technical engagement with top customers
• Partner with Solution Architects; define relationships and handoffs; coach TSE engineers as a mentor-of-mentors.
• May provide SE&I team leadership coverage from time to time to fill-in for manager when he is away or on PTO
• Collaborate with Customer's Technical Staff as their Ciena DCOM Design Partner.
• Define gaps and opportunities to improve performance and capabilities of existing Ciena DCOM solution.
• Work with SMEs inside Ciena to define new features and functions
• Work with Customer's Technical Staff to refine and align proposed solutions with production deployment requirements
• Once productized by Ciena R&D and Test, support integration testing in customer's pre-production test environment
• Coordinate the responses to DCOM customer pre-production issues, requests and technical questions posted on Workplace and Google Chat

Benefits

• 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
• vacation time
• Paid Family Leave and other leaves of absence

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior