Senior Network Operations Consultant

As the global leader in high-speed connectivity, Ciena builds the critical infrastructure powering the AI era. We’re a technology company shaping the future of networking, guided by innovation, integrity, and collaboration. Through development opportunities, meaningful work, and flexibility, Ciena supports growth and well-being—on and off the job. Connect with a career that matters.

The Senior Network Operations Consultant (P4) is an advanced individual contributor who combines deep Network Operations Center expertise with customer-facing focus and disciplined program leadership. The role work with the Ciena Managed Operations team and customer to drive complex incident and problem resolution, and designs, mobilizes, and transitions new managed operations programs into steady-state service. Working across customers, NOC teams, engineering, technical support, field operations, security, IT, service delivery, vendors, and partners, this position translates contractual and operational requirements into executable operating models, controls, runbooks, readiness evidence, and measurable service outcomes.

How you will make an impact:

·    Ensure proper procedures, methods and deliverables are met relative to monitoring, triaging, diagnosing, restoring, and responding to complex service-impacting events across optical transport, OTN, DWDM, Ethernet, IP, network management, telemetry, and related environments.

·    Engage with cross-functional technical workstreams, ensure escalation timing, clear incident communications, and timely restoration within approved authority and service-level commitments.

·    Monitor NOC performance relative to alarm analyzation, log / traces / performance data captures, topology, configurations, and service dependencies to identify potential areas of procedural weaknesses. Define corrective and preventive actions to address underperforming areas.

·    Establish proactive problem management mechanisms in the areas of chronic alarms, incident trending, network availability, and capacity analysis, and operational tuning to improve stability and reduce recurring events.

·    Ensure maintenance and change activities are appropriately planned through readiness validation, MOP reviews, risk assessment, rollback planning, implementation support, and post-change verification.

·    Facilitate customer discovery and readiness workshops covering network scope, operating constraints, security, support models, ITSM processes, governance, tooling, documentation, staffing, and third-party dependencies.

·    Translate current-state findings into target operating models, responsibility matrices, process flows, escalation frameworks, risk registers, onboarding backlogs, and prioritized recommendations.

·    Lead implementation workstreams for new managed operations programs and service expansions, from discovery and design through onboarding, testing, cutover, hypercare, and steady-state handoff.

·    Guide integrated onboarding plans, RAID logs, decision records, schedules, readiness dashboards, acceptance criteria, and customer obligations.

·    Participate in the development, validation, and improvement of runbooks, SOPs, MOPs, escalation matrices, communications templates, knowledge articles, testing packages, and operational readiness evidence.

·    Provide mentoring to Ciena NOC resources, provide technical or functional direction without direct authority, and review deliverables for quality, completeness, supportability, security alignment, and customer usability.

·    Contribute to service design, automation, AIOps, analytics, tooling, standards, templates, knowledge management, and continuous improvement across the Managed Operations practice.

The must haves:

·    Bachelor’s degree in Telecommunications, Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology, Business, or a related discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.

·    Typically 8–10 years of related experience in progressively complex network operations, service assurance, technical support, managed services, consulting, implementation, or delivery assignments.

·    Demonstrated experience leading complex incidents, operational problems, customer-facing workshops, assessments, service transitions, implementations, or cross-functional workstreams.

·    Broad multi-domain knowledge with deep expertise in one or more areas such as optical transport, OTN, DWDM, Ethernet, IP, network management, telemetry, cloud connectivity, or virtualization.

·    Ability to structure ambiguous problems, correlate evidence across technical domains, evaluate operational risk, and recommend practical courses of action.

·    Experience developing operational controls and deliverables such as onboarding plans, RAID logs, RACI matrices, readiness checklists, runbooks, SOPs, test evidence, and governance reporting.

·    Strong stakeholder management, facilitation, written communication, and executive presentation skills.

·    Ability to influence multidisciplinary teams and gain alignment across customers, partners, vendors, and internal functions without direct authority.

·    Experience working in a 24x7 operational context, including on-call, maintenance, escalation, or cutover support as business needs require.

·    Travel as required by the assignment.

Nice to haves:

·    ITIL Foundation or higher certification with practical application of IT service management practices.

·    PMP, PRINCE2, Agile, or equivalent project or program management certification or training.

·    Relevant networking or vendor certifications such as Ciena optical or Carrier Ethernet credentials, CCNP, JNCIP, or equivalent.

·    Experience supporting multi-vendor service provider, hyperscaler, cloud, data center, carrier, or large enterprise networks.

·    Experience with automation, scripting, APIs, AIOps, observability, analytics, ITSM platforms, eBonding, secure remote access, network management systems, or performance reporting.

·    Experience with build-operate-transfer models, operational transformation, or startup of new managed service programs.

·    Master’s degree or MBA..

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.