Consultant - Sales Engineering

Ciena is committed to our people-first philosophy. Our teams enjoy a culture focused on prioritizing a personalized and flexible work environment that empowers an individual’s passions, growth, wellbeing and belonging. We’re a technology company that leads with our humanity—driving our business priorities alongside meaningful social, community, and societal impact.

Why Ciena: 

• We are big proponents of life-work integration and provide the flexibility and tools to make it a reality with remote work and potentially, part-time work. 
• We believe an inclusive, diverse and barrier-free work environment makes for empowered and committed employees.  
• We recognize the importance of well-being and offer programs and benefits to support and sustain the mental and physical health of our employees and their families and also offer a variety of paid family leave programs. 
• We are committed to employee development, offering tuition reimbursement and a variety of in-house learning and mentorship opportunities. 
• We know that financial security is important. We offer competitive salaries and incentive programs, RSU’s (job level specific) and an employee share option purchase program. 
• We realize time away to recharge is non-negotiable. We offer flexible paid time off! 
• Great work deserves recognition. We have a robust recognition program, with ongoing and enhanced awards for exemplary performance. 

How You Will Contribute: 

• Accountable for the defined business outcomes within assigned territory or accounts
• Assist the account teams in identifying, qualifying and engaging the customers at all levels both at a technical and business level.
• Coordinate and collaborate with various departments such as product management, engineering etc. to influence feature and function roadmaps for Ciena’s packet optical portfolio.
• Act as a customer advocate to internal teams and a trusted advisor to the customers
• Assist in assessment of potential product features, providing input on prioritization.
• Be capable of presenting to large audiences on the subject matter.
• Influence and capture customer applications to ensure product fits with Ciena portfolio.
• Understand the evolution of Ciena’s product portfolio and articulate these plans to customers at a senior level.
• Strong business development/commercial acumen to partner and support the regional strategy in moving into adjacent areas and evolving our packet optical Networking portfolio engagement.

What Does Ciena Expect of You? 

• Initiative – you’re a self-starter who works with limited direction and is committed to delivering against aggressive deadlines. 
• Agility – you are readily able to make key decisions and manage competing and ever-changing account priorities and largely driven by the software development process. 
• Communication expertise – you have the ability to influence and tailor your message and ideas to the audience to ensure understanding and consensus. 
• The flexibility to work independently and as part of a broader team – you thrive in a multi-disciplinary team environment, but are comfortable working independently as required. 
• Relationship builder – with an ability to influence, you’re able to get work done through others. 
• A commitment to innovation – you keep abreast of the market and competitive developments and are always keen to formulate new ideas and problem solve. 

The Must Haves: 

• Technical Degree; B.E./B.Tech
• Expert in architecting complex Layer-0, layer-1, DCI , Metro and regional/ long distance transport Networks
• Should have a good understanding of ,Layer-2, Layer-3 technologies.
• 10 + years telecommunication industry experience
• Prior hands-on experience in planning, design or deployment of large L0/L1 control plane networks is a definite plus.
• Solid proven experience in the communication industry although must be commercially minded, the candidate will have a hands-on background with sales experience to add to the technical capabilities.
• Demonstrate decision-making and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent presentation, interpersonal and communications skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills (English), both technical and non-technical.

Areas of impact

• Ability to engage different market segments including but not limited to Government enterprise, state boards,  Tier 1/2/3 Operators, wholesale operator and enterprise.
• Telecommunication networks, Network management, & SDN (domain controllers) preferably with knowledge of network automation solutions.
• Ability to liaise with Ciena engineering personnel to capture new feature requirements, articulate the key feature requirements and position the Ciena solution to meet those needs.
• Relationship skills and ability to inspire trust and influence others including senior Execs.
• Expert level knowledge, of control plane based Layer-1, layer-0 networks, transport network automation, data center interconnects.
• Ability to drive RFP’s and communicate technical quotations accurately.
• Understanding of competitive sales environment.
• Understanding and commitment to Ciena’s Strategic pillars and direction.
• Professionalism in attitude, conduct, and appearance.
• Good understanding of current telecommunication architecture approaches and have the capacity to lead technical discussions across multiple network areas.

Location: Gurgaon (Hybrid)