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

Jul 12, 2015

Ciena India - QA

Software engineer qa

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

-> Good planning and good availability for test labs although remotely located in Ottawa -> Good work life balance -> Free home to office pick up and drop in Delhi NCR,Free lunch and Dinner -> 1-2 weeks holidays post 6 month busy test schedule -> Work from Home

Cons

-> No much carrer growth -> No skip level meetings -> No connect with HR once you complete probation -> Once you get an domain and we are working in that domain for years say OTN Switching -> They still give 1.5 times your experience, say you have 10 yrs QA you land with 15L salary in India -> They are surviving with aquisitions, First Nortel 6500 which is helping company today with most of it revenues -> SDN space they have aquired Cyan now, clearly states they are making survival with only aquisitions

Ciena Response

10y

Thanks for the review. We encourage all employees to take ownership, however skip levels can be arranged in both directions and each employee should take responsibility for there own individual development plan - all tools and resources can be found on inside.ciena, alongside details on our mentors hip program.

3.0

Jul 1, 2015

Great entry level career

Quality assurance specialist

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

great people and working environment, good work life balance

Cons

no transparency into career progression

4.0

Jun 29, 2015

Dynamic and growing company slowed by internal bickering and politics

Lead engineer, p&t

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Very knowledgeable professionals Suitably equipped facilities Work/life balance - just be honest and do your job Opportunities to learn Benefits are very reasonable Pay is above market but not overly generous

Cons

Middle management is either not empowered or is constantly embroiled in meaningless unproductive politics ... or both Career advancement comes by favor or outside recruitment not usually hard work, dedication and proven results ... so ambitious and talented stalwarts leave Many of the managers have not been trained and do poor to fair jobs managing effectively

Viewing 2245 - 2247 of 2,292 Reviews

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Jobs at Ciena

Customer Support Operations Consultant

IT Project / Program Manager

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

Global Process Owner - Sales and Operations Planning

Optical DSP Intern (Masters/PhD)

Ciena

Ciena reviews

Ratings by category

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

Ciena India - QA

Great entry level career

Dynamic and growing company slowed by internal bickering and politics

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