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

3.0

Aug 31, 2012

Its a ok place to work

Principal engineer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Flexible working schedule and good working environment Good work and life balance, ok compensation and benefits There are some intelligent people

Cons

Management is the problem, too many layers of middle management not much career opportunities, sometimes unreasonable project schedules

3.0

Jul 11, 2011

Use to be a lot more fun

Accounting and finance

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

work life balance work from home company allows for good accomodation for travelers decent pay

Cons

massive changes due to aquisition market forces not necessarily in favor of the company lot of compitition no longer have the big cash cusion that sustained the company through rough times bonus payouts are spotty at best raises have been slim in last 3 years

4.0

Mar 31, 2009

Ciena is a great place to grow as an engineer.

Senior engineer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The exposure to new technology in telecom and fiber optics is unmatched. The engineers are brilliant and very good at teaching younger engineers about the tricks of the trade. There is a great sense of cameraderie and people will go out of their way to help out others.

Cons

There is an awful lot of red tape. Engineers are constantly hampered by paperwork requirements, which obviously results in less time designing and testing. There is a sort of struggle between departments, even when working towards the same goals. For example, there is a constant struggle between software and hardware engineers to accomplish their respective goals if toes are getting stepped on.

Viewing 121 - 123 of 2,292 Reviews

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Jobs at Ciena

Customer Support Operations Consultant

IT Project / Program Manager

Optical DSP Intern (Masters/PhD)

Global Process Owner - Sales and Operations Planning

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

Ciena

Ciena reviews

Ratings by category

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

Its a ok place to work

Use to be a lot more fun

Ciena is a great place to grow as an engineer.

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