Is Ciena a good company to work for?

Ciena has an overall rating of 4.1 out of 5, based on over 2,688 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has decreased by 1% over the last 12 months. 82% of employees would recommend working at Ciena to a friend and 75% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about Ciena have been left by employees working as Manager , Director and Software Engineer .

Does Ciena pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Ciena employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.8 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Ciena. This rating has decreased by 3% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Ciena?

82% of Ciena employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Ciena 4.2 out of 5 for work life balance, 4.1 for culture and values and 3.8 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Ciena?

Software Engineer (195) , Senior Software Engineer (93) , Embedded Software Engineer (52) , Lead Engineer (33) , Senior Manager (33) , Intern (32) , Software Developer (32) , Network Engineer (31) , Project Manager (29) , Hardware Engineer (27) , Software Engineer 2B (27) , Software Engineer II (24) , Director (23) , Systems Engineer (22) , Engineer (21)

What are the pros of working at Ciena according to real employee reviews?

"Good benefits and pension contribution." ((in 178 reviews)); "People are great and easy to get along with." ((in 164 reviews)); "Great Culture and Minds" ((in 148 reviews)); "Great Work Culture and Co" ((in 89 reviews)); "Good salaries (I was here on placement and amazed at my salary)." ((in 85 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Ciena according to real employee reviews?

"Mass resignation in PH cyber team because of poor management" ((in 68 reviews)); "Many of the managers have not been trained and do poor to fair jobs managing effectively" ((in 44 reviews)); "Recent merger with Cyan(now Blueplanet)expose you to cutting edge technologies but there is no training plan for employees, you are on your own." ((in 20 reviews)); "too much politics (dirty games) involved within the teams and between different teams." ((in 8 reviews)); "Favoritism is common, and employees are often expected to gain favor with managers instead of being recognized for their work." ((in 7 reviews))

What are employees saying about Ciena layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about Ciena layoffs and their outlook for job security at Ciena in 2026.

What are the top reviewed Ciena locations?

Hanover , San Jose , Linthicum , Baltimore , Alpharetta , Atlanta , Petaluma , Denver , Spokane , Miami , Hanover , Raleigh , Dallas , San Francisco , Research Triangle Park , Maryland City , Linthicum Heights , New York , Boston , Miramar , Grand Rapids , Durham , Richardson , Seattle , City of Spokane Valley , Spokane Valley , Freehold , New Brunswick , Newark , Chicago

Ciena reviews

4.1

82% would recommend to a friend

(2,292 total reviews)

Gary B. Smith

86% approve of CEO

75% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.2

Work/Life balance

4.1

Culture & values

4.1

Diversity & inclusion

3.8

Senior management

3.8

Compensation and benefits

3.8

Career opportunities

Ciena has an employee rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars, based on 2,292 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The Ciena employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Telecommunications industry (3.6 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

2K reviews

4.0

Oct 25, 2025

APP DEV

App developer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Not bad work life balance

Cons

There has been many layoffs

4.0

Oct 24, 2025

Work life balance and work culture

Svt/pv engineer iii

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Ciena offers an excellent work-life balance and a great work culture, just like anyone would want. It also gives you ample opportunities to work with different teams on various technologies, which obviously improves your overall skill set.

Cons

Ciena offers work visas for certain positions in some countries, but this is very limited. They may offer more on-site opportunities.

Ciena Response

8mo

Thank you for sharing your experience with Ciena! We’re thrilled to hear that you appreciate the work-life balance and collaborative culture we strive to foster. Providing opportunities to work across teams and technologies is a key part of our commitment to employee growth and development.

1.0

Oct 23, 2025

AVOID! | Leadership is incompetent

Senior soc analyst

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

My team was great to work with!

Cons

- new leadership came in and ruined a great culture. - changes made to our work made zero sense and showed no true logic was put into making these changes. - CISO started hiring former co-workers and friends. - Almost entire team was laid off and while getting kicked out the door given the “you’re like family speech”.

Viewing 100 - 102 of 2,292 Reviews

Top companies for "Compensation and Benefits" near you

AT&T

3.8★Compensation & Benefits

Verizon

4.1★Compensation & Benefits

T-Mobile

3.9★Compensation & Benefits

Comcast

3.8★Compensation & Benefits

Jobs at Ciena

Director, Strategic Transactions

United States

View job

Customer Support Operations Consultant

Senior Financial & Data Analyst (FinOps) - Hanover, Maryland

Optical DSP Intern (Masters/PhD)

Ciena

Ciena reviews

Ratings by category

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

APP DEV

Work life balance and work culture

AVOID! | Leadership is incompetent

Top companies for "Compensation and Benefits" near you

Jobs at Ciena

Ciena reviews FAQs

Want the inside scoop on your own company?

Bowls

Followed companies

Job searches

Top companies for "Compensation and Benefits" near you

Ciena reviews FAQs

Jobs at Ciena