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

Nov 4, 2025

Solid Company. Crappy Manager

Solutions engineer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

helpful team work life balance

Cons

upper management organization structure lack of documentation

1.0

Oct 29, 2025

Stay away

Senior software engineer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

No pros except good work life balance.

Cons

Employees can be terminated at any time. The company frequently undergoes reorganizations, during which new upper management rarely engages with long-tenured engineers. This short-sighted approach to get the finances in place will ultimately cost the company in the long run.

3.0

Aug 8, 2025

decent

Senior software engineer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

its okay to start at

Cons

no growth potential slow career growth

Ciena Response

10mo

Thank you for your feedback. We appreciate you sharing your experience and are glad you’ve chosen Ciena as part of your career journey. We understand your concerns about growth potential and career progression. Supporting our employees’ development is a priority, and we’re continuously working to improve opportunities for growth. If you have specific suggestions, we’d love to hear them—please email us at cienafeedback@ciena.com. Thank you for your input.

Viewing 124 - 126 of 2,292 Reviews

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Customer Support Operations Consultant

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Ciena

Ciena reviews

Ratings by category

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

Solid Company. Crappy Manager

Stay away

decent

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