Senior Optical Engineer

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.

As a senior technical contributor on the Optical Systems Performance (OSP) Team, the Optical Systems Engineer advances end-to-end optical fiber sensing architectures and system designs spanning coherent modems, optical line systems, telemetry, signal processing, analytics, and application interfaces. The role applies theoretical and experimental optical engineering expertise to current and next-generation platforms, helping translate customer and business needs into integrated sensing system designs.

How you will make an impact:

• Own end-to-end optical fiber sensing architectures within the OSP team, translating customer and business needs into system requirements, architecture decisions, interface definitions, performance budgets, and technical roadmaps.
• Lead the design and integration of sensing solutions across coherent modems, optical line systems, embedded telemetry, timing and synchronization, data transport, signal processing, analytics, and application interfaces.
• Define sensing performance metrics and system specifications, develop link and noise budgets, identify key trade-offs, and validate designs through analytical modeling, numerical simulation, laboratory experiments, and field trials.
• Provide technical leadership from concept through implementation, verification, deployment, and lifecycle support, including design reviews, risk management, root-cause analysis, and resolution of complex cross-domain issues.
• Develop and apply optical engineering expertise in fiber propagation, coherent detection, optical amplification, optical switching, link engineering, impairments, and measurement science to ensure sensing functions coexist with communications performance.
• Plan and execute laboratory and field investigations of modem-based and line-system-based sensing, including experimental design, instrumentation, data acquisition, signal analysis, performance characterization, and interpretation of results.
• Collaborate with hardware, modem, software, systems, product line management, solutions engineering, services, and customer teams to drive architecture alignment, integration priorities, demonstrations, and deployment readiness.

The must haves:

• Education: Graduate or post-graduate degree in Physics, Electrical Engineering, Engineering Physics, or a related discipline, with application of optical engineering to communications, sensing, or complex photonic systems.
• Experience: 5+ years of experience with optical fiber sensing principles, signal processing, data analysis, and performance characterization, with the ability to connect physical phenomena to system-level requirements and observed measurements.
• Demonstrated ownership of complex system designs through requirements definition, architecture, modeling, prototyping, verification, integration, optimization, and deployment.
• Application of theoretical knowledge of fiber-optic propagation, coherent optical systems, noise and impairments, optical amplification, optical switching, polarization effects, and digital communications.
• Application of experimental optical engineering skills, including laboratory setup design, optical alignment and handling, calibration, uncertainty analysis, and use of oscilloscopes, signal generators, optical power meters, spectrum analyzers, polarization-control equipment, and related test instrumentation in an ESD-protected environment.
• Utilization of MATLAB and Python for development of models, analysis workflows, and reusable engineering tools.
• Proven ability to debug ambiguous, multidisciplinary system issues, make technical decisions with incomplete information, and communicate recommendations to technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Nice to haves:

• Education: Advanced degree with research or industry experience in optical communications, distributed fiber-optic sensing, coherent sensing, photonics, or a related discipline.
• 5+ Years experience architecting sensing solutions that use coherent transponders or optical line-system telemetry, including timing, synchronization, data export, signal processing, and analytics.
• 5+ Years experience with laboratory or field trials, customer demonstrations, network planning, optical modeling tools, or deployment of sensing functions over operational telecom fiber.
• Knowledge of distributed acoustic, phase, strain, vibration, or environmental sensing techniques and their implementation or coexistence in optical line systems.
• Familiarity with embedded systems, telemetry pipelines, microservice architectures, cloud or edge analytics, APIs, and distributed-system optimization.
• Experience contributing to technical publications, patents, industry standards, or cross-functional product roadmaps.
• Experience applying LLMs and generative AI to engineering workflows, including technical research, data analysis, software development, automation, and validation of AI-generated outputs.

Pay Range:

The annual pay range for this position is C$96,600 - C$154,400.

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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.