Product Lifecycle Manager

Ciena•Ottawa, ON

6d•$137,800 - $220,200

About The Position

Ciena is seeking a commercially minded Product Lifecycle Manager to maximize the contribution margin of its Broadband FTTx and DCOM products. The role connects customer and market insight to business execution, developing strategies to scale profitable products and manage graceful retirements. The Product Lifecycle Manager works with customers, Sales, Engineering, Supply Chain, and executive leadership to set priorities and deliver customer and business outcomes. The position balances product strategy with hands-on execution, including developing business cases, evaluating market opportunities, guiding pricing and positioning, tracking business performance, and aligning diverse teams. It requires translating product capabilities into revenue growth, market success, and customer satisfaction. The role is based on the description of Product Lifecycle Management in the networking equipment industry and involves business management, product lifecycle decisions, cross-functional coordination, risk management, and data-informed product governance.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in engineering, computer science, business, or a related field.
10+ years of experience in Product Lifecycle Management roles at telecom, datacom, or networking equipment vendors.
Track record of leading complex, cross-functional initiatives and delivering results through influence across engineering, commercial, operational, and customer-facing organizations.
Strong business acumen and hands-on experience with business cases, pricing, forecasting, portfolio planning, competitive analysis, profitability, investment prioritization, and product lifecycle decisions.
Proactive, action-oriented approach with the ability to move quickly, manage competing priorities, and maintain momentum in a fast-paced environment.

Nice To Haves

Advanced technical degree.
Ability to bring clarity to ambiguity, make sound trade-offs, simplify complexity, and rally teams around execution milestones and measurable outcomes.
Judgment in assessing innovation for technical feasibility and business impact, including customer value, execution risk, time-to-market, differentiation, and financial return.
Ability to communicate effectively from detailed engineering discussions to executive-level transformation narratives.
Deep technical knowledge of FTTx PON technologies and products, including OLTs, ONUs, OMCI, and Netconf/Yang.
Deep technical knowledge of IP networking and routing technologies, including IPv4/IPv6, BGP, QoS, OAM, and Service Provider network architectures.
Experience with Data Center and Service Provider architectures across access, aggregation, metro, core, edge, DCI, and cloud interconnect.
Experience working directly with Tier-1, Tier-2, or cloud/network operator customers on network modernization or service evolution initiatives.
Familiarity with AI-enabled operations, streaming telemetry, intent-based networking, cloud-native network functions, programmable infrastructure, SRv6, network slicing, and advanced orchestration.

Responsibilities

Build and maintain product business cases connecting pricing strategy, margin, revenue opportunity, cost structure, competitive positioning, investment trade-offs, and profitability objectives.
Formulate strategies to scale profitable products and manage graceful retirements.
Engage with account teams and customers to understand network evolution priorities, support architecture discussions, validate roadmap assumptions, and position Ciena solutions around customer outcomes.
Coordinate with R&D, design, procurement, quality assurance, sales, and support teams to keep product data and timelines synchronized.
Translate customer needs, market shifts, standards evolution, technology trends, and competitive insight into product requirements, business cases, investment priorities, and lifecycle plans.
Address supply chain bottlenecks, technical roadblocks, and market shifts through engineering change orders (ECOs) and risk mitigation plans.
Create urgency and alignment across Engineering, Supply Chain, Marketing, Services, and account teams.
Make product lifecycle decisions using data and technical diligence.
Evaluate market opportunities, guide pricing and positioning, and track business performance.

Benefits

Comprehensive benefits package
Medical plans
Dental plans
Vision plans
Participation in 401(K) (USA) and 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 in accordance with applicable laws
Non-Sales employees may be eligible for a discretionary incentive bonus; Sales employees may be eligible for a sales commission