Is Ciena a good company to work for?

Ciena has an overall rating of 4.1 out of 5, based on over 2,684 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 74% 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 4.1 out of 5 for work life balance, 4.1 for culture and values and 3.7 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 177 reviews)); "People are great and easy to get along with." ((in 165 reviews)); "Great Culture and Minds" ((in 154 reviews)); "Good salaries (I was here on placement and amazed at my salary)." ((in 81 reviews)); "Great Work Culture and Co" ((in 80 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Ciena according to real employee 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 19 reviews)); "Yes working in medium to large sized companies there is a disconnect sometimes between senior management and junior staff, that is well understood." ((in 9 reviews)); "Currently hiring remote workers due to pandemic but once that shifts back to being present in an office, you will see firsthand the lack of diversity." ((in 7 reviews)); "Favoritism is common, and employees are often expected to gain favor with managers instead of being recognized for their work." ((in 6 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

(2,290 total reviews)

Gary B. Smith

85% approve of CEO

74% positive business outlook

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Ciena has an employee rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars, based on 2,290 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).

Reviews by job title

2K reviews

4.0

Jun 30, 2011

Nice work place, good infrastructure with lot of benefits and facilities beside fair salaries.

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Good work life balance. Tightly knitted team so person is familiar with most of the people around him. Good recreation and health center within the company premises.

Cons

Lesser growth opportunities. And sometimes work gets very boring.

4.0

Jun 8, 2011

Overall, not bad

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Flexible work schedule Some VERY smart people work here - learn a lot Everyone does strive to resolve issues and lots of laughter on most conference calls

Cons

Long hour days Too many meetings and "cooks in the kitchen" at times Struggle with the tight budgets given to build products Too many acquisitions and opinions on how to do things Forward progress is frustrating to achieve, nothing happens fast 95% communication via email

1.0

Jun 7, 2011

If you enjoy layoffs, excessive overtime, and management abuse, Ciena is the place for you.

Director of software engineering

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Ciena has retains some highly competent engineers; compensation is good (while it lasts). Ciena has a technically decent portfolio of products (albeit not profitable ones).

Cons

Ciena goes through regular cycles of mass layoffs and outsourcing. Heavy overtime is expected, software in particular is abused and opportunities for advancement and learning new technologies are limited. Software engineers can do much better elsewhere. Software engineering management jobs are even worse: despite much lip-service paid to good management practices, management at Ciena is insanely political; managers are expected to leave their conscience at home: ride staff hard, burn 'em out, and then lay 'em off.

Viewing 2266 - 2268 of 2,290 Reviews

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Jobs at Ciena

Customer Support Operations Consultant

IT Project / Program Manager

Field Service Project Management

Field Service Program Manager

Global Process Owner - Sales and Operations Planning

Ciena

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Reviews by job title

Nice work place, good infrastructure with lot of benefits and facilities beside fair salaries.

Overall, not bad

If you enjoy layoffs, excessive overtime, and management abuse, Ciena is the place for you.

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