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      Ciena

      Engaged Employer

      Ciena reviews

      4.1

      82% would recommend to a friend

      (2,290 total reviews)
      avatar

      Gary B. Smith

      85% approve of CEO

      74% positive business outlook

      Ratings by category

      4.1

      Culture & values

      4.1

      Diversity & inclusion

      4.1

      Work/Life balance

      3.8

      Senior management

      3.8

      Compensation and benefits

      3.7

      Career opportunities

      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).

      Ratings by demographic groups

      Reviews by job title

      2K reviews
      4.0
      Jun 1, 2010

      Working at Ciena

      Senior software engineer
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Good environment and challenging technology Good lab environment, tools and licenses Good location Good compensation and benefits versus working hours

      Cons

      Too much politics, projects allocated on nepotism

      2.0
      May 28, 2010

      Very Vertical, Poor Communication

      Senior software engineer
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Some of the technology is complex and interesting, there is a strong pool of talent in coworkers, and select team managers do an excellent job with their team members.

      Cons

      Management style is very vertical and often micromangement, Compensation changes and promotions seem to be about playing favorites rather than work ethic or performance, HUGE communication issues between departments and teams, some employees who have been there for a very long time have not learned new technology and are very resistant to change.

      4.0
      Feb 20, 2010

      Was a great place to work, but now questionnable due to Nortel acquisition

      Senior quality engineer
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Ciena had a great work/life balance with perks such as telecommuting plans, flexible work hours, health club reimbursements, and company wellness plans. The benefits package was quite lucrative, and the salaries were on par with other companies in the telecommunications industry. Management had an open door policy, and employees were empowered to work autonomously to achieve their assignments. The people are great to work with and sincerely want to help you when you ask - there truly is a sense of being a huge family.

      Cons

      Ciena is still an organization where it is important as to who you know rather than what you know in order to advance. The internal systems are very archaic and disjoined, and a silo mentality exists within certain groups. Gary Smith and upper management really sold out Ciena during the Nortel acquisition - who purchased who? Most Nortel management remained while Ciena management will most likely soon be shown the door. Many employees were very loyal to Ciena, and put forth a tremendous amount of effort to build the organization over the years. However, now they anxiously wait for severance packages.

      Viewing 2284 - 2286 of 2,290 Reviews
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      ReviewsCiena reviews

      Glassdoor has 2,685 Ciena reviews submitted anonymously by Ciena employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Ciena is right for you.