Technical Solutions Engineer – Data Center PON

Ciena • Ottawa, ON

39d • 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. 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. 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. 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. Work closely with customers and internal stakeholders to translate networking requirements into scalable and operationally efficient solutions. Collaborate across the entire software and solution lifecycle, including requirements analysis, integration, verification, solution validation, and customer support. 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. Proactively identifying and resolving technical challenges through solution analysis, recommendation, and execution, while aligning internal and external stakeholders

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent, with 7+ years of relevant industry experience.
• Strong hands-on experience with Passive Optical Networking (PON) technologies including OLT and ONT/ONU, and broadband access architectures such as FTTx.
• Solid understanding of Layer 2 and Layer 3 networking, including Ethernet, VLAN, QoS, IPv4, IPv6, and switching and routing in access networks.
• Experience working with network management and automation interfaces, including NETCONF/YANG, gRPC/gNMI, telemetry, and REST APIs.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with remote and globally distributed teams.
• Strong interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills, with the ability to engage both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Experience supporting or designing network solutions for complex environments such as large enterprise or data center infrastructures.

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with containerized and modern network architectures, including Docker, SDN, NFV, and disaggregated networking solutions.
• Experience with database technologies, preferably MongoDB or JSON-based databases.
• Knowledge of secure networking technologies, including SSH, TLS, and X.509 certificates.
• Experience supporting data center networking environments, particularly those used by hyperscale or large cloud infrastructure operators.

Responsibilities

• 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.
• 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.
• Work closely with customers and internal stakeholders to translate networking requirements into scalable and operationally efficient solutions.
• Collaborate across the entire software and solution lifecycle, including requirements analysis, integration, verification, solution validation, and customer support.
• 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.
• Proactively identifying and resolving technical challenges through solution analysis, recommendation, and execution, while aligning internal and external stakeholders

Benefits

• medical
• dental
• 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

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees