Network Recovery Senior Associate

Ciena; Maryland; Remote; USD 72,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Ciena is seeking a Network Recovery Associate for the Emergency Response Team (ERT). You will restore customer networks during high-severity incidents across Ciena's Coherent Packet Optical portfolio, including 6500, RLS, and Waveserver platforms.

You will lead troubleshooting across optical transport networks, coordinate with engineers and support teams, and develop root cause analyses. This role emphasizes ownership, clear communication, and rapid restoration within tight recovery objectives.

Qualifications

• 4+ years in optical transport, telecom, or carrier-grade networking support/dev/ops.
• Proven troubleshooting of complex network/service issues in production.
• Experience owning incidents from detection to restoration under strict SLAs.
• Ability to explain technical problems and recovery plans clearly to customers and stakeholders.
• Document investigations and resolutions in structured reports.

Responsibilities

• Take ownership of high-severity incidents (Severity 1/2) and drive restoration within recovery objectives.
• Investigate and resolve issues across optical transport networks using alarms, logs, and topology data.
• Develop and execute structured recovery plans and coordinate technical activities for service restoration.
• Communicate findings, plans, and status to customers during critical incidents.
• Collaborate with product engineering, global support, and other SMEs to resolve problems and investigate defects.
• Prepare interim root cause analyses and post-incident reviews with timelines and contributing factors.
• Maintain accurate troubleshooting records and technical documentation for knowledge sharing.
• Engage in post-incident reviews to improve readiness and recovery times.

Skills

Optical networking

Troubleshooting

Incident management

Customer communication

Technical documentation

On-call readiness

Job description

As the global leader in high-speed connectivity, Ciena builds the critical infrastructure powering the AI era. We're a technology company shaping the future of networking, guided by innovation, integrity, and collaboration. Through development opportunities, meaningful work, and flexibility, Ciena supports growth and well-being-on and off the job. Connect with a career that matters.

Network Recovery Associate - Emergency Response Team (ERT), CPO

As the global leader in high-speed connectivity, Ciena builds the critical infrastructure powering the AI era. We're a technology company shaping the future of networking, guided by innovation, integrity, and collaboration. Through development opportunities, meaningful work, and flexibility, Ciena supports growth and well-being-on and off the job. Connect with a career that matters.

How you will make an impact

As a member of Ciena's Emergency Response Team (ERT), you will play a critical role in restoring customer networks during high-severity incidents involving Ciena's Coherent Packet Optical (CPO) portfolio, including the 6500, RLS, and Waveserver platforms. You will apply your optical networking expertise, analytical troubleshooting skills, and incident management experience to resolve complex network issues, minimize service disruption, and deliver exceptional customer outcomes.

• Drive critical incident recovery: Take ownership of high-severity customer incidents, including Severity 1 and Severity 2 events, and lead troubleshooting efforts to restore services within established recovery objectives.
• Troubleshoot complex optical networks: Investigate and resolve service-impacting issues across optical transport networks, using system alarms, logs, performance data, topology information, and other diagnostic tools to isolate faults and determine recovery actions.
• Restore customer services: Develop and execute structured recovery strategies, assess potential service impacts, and coordinate technical activities to achieve timely and effective service restoration.
• Engage directly with customers: Communicate technical findings, recovery plans, progress updates, and next steps clearly throughout critical incidents, maintaining customer confidence during high-pressure situations.
• Collaborate across technical teams: Work with product engineering, development, global technical support, and other subject matter experts to resolve complex problems and investigate potential product defects.
• Prepare root cause analysis: Develop interim root cause analysis reports, documenting incident timelines, technical findings, recovery actions, contributing factors, and outstanding investigations.
• Maintain technical documentation: Accurately record troubleshooting activities, diagnostic evidence, customer communications, and resolution details to support effective incident management and knowledge sharing.
• Improve recovery effectiveness: Participate in post-incident reviews, lessons learned, knowledge management, and continuous improvement initiatives that strengthen technical readiness and reduce recovery times.

The must haves

• Optical networking experience: 4+ years of experience in optical transport, telecommunications, network engineering, or technical support for carrier-grade networking equipment.
• Technical troubleshooting: Demonstrated experience diagnosing complex network or service issues in production environments, using alarms, logs, performance metrics, network topology, and other diagnostic information.
• Network recovery: Ability to analyze service-impacting failures, develop effective troubleshooting strategies, and drive restoration activities in environments with stringent availability and recovery requirements.
• Optical transport fundamentals: Strong understanding of optical transport networks and relevant technologies, such as DWDM, coherent optics, wavelength services, optical performance monitoring, or related transport technologies.
• Incident ownership: Ability to manage critical technical issues from initial investigation through service restoration, prioritizing actions and coordinating the appropriate technical resources.
• Customer engagement: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to explain complex technical problems, recovery strategies, and incident status to customers and internal stakeholders.
• Technical documentation: Experience documenting technical investigations, troubleshooting procedures, and incident findings. The ability to produce clear, structured technical reports is essential.
• Collaboration and judgment: Ability to work independently, make sound technical decisions under pressure, and collaborate effectively with geographically distributed teams.
• On-call availability: Willingness to participate in a scheduled rotational on-call model, including weekend coverage (once every 4-5 weeks).

Nice to haves

• Hands-on experience with Ciena optical networking platforms, particularly the 6500, RLS, or Waveserver product families.
• Experience supporting optical transport equipment from other telecommunications vendors, such as Nokia, Infinera, Cisco, or equivalent optical networking platforms.
• Advanced knowledge of DWDM, coherent optical transmission, wavelength provisioning, optical power levels, signal quality, and optical performance troubleshooting.
• Experience diagnosing complex faults involving multiple network nodes, optical spans, wavelengths, services, or interacting failure conditions.
• Experience managing high-severity incidents in carrier, service provider, data centre interconnect, or other mission‑critical network environments.
• Experience preparing root cause analysis reports and participating in formal post‑incident reviews.
• Experience working with engineering or development teams to investigate product defects, identify recurring failure patterns, and improve product reliability.
• Experience mentoring peers, developing troubleshooting guides, and contributing to knowledge management initiatives.
• Relevant optical networking certifications or vendor‑specific technical qualifications.
• A continuous improvement mindset, with an interest in improving troubleshooting effectiveness, incident recovery processes, and customer experience through data‑driven analysis and product feedback.
• Leverage AI‑powered tools for log analysis, fault isolation, and troubleshooting to accelerate root cause identification, improve diagnostic accuracy, and reduce customer service recovery time.
• Location: Candidates must be in the United States or Canada. This is a remote position; however, preference will be given to candidates based in Ottawa, Ontario.

Pay Range:

The annual pay range for this position in Canada is C$73,800 - C$140,000.

The annual pay range for this position in US is $72,100 - $140,000.

Pay ranges at Ciena are designed to accommodate variations in knowledge, skills, experience, market conditions, and locations, reflecting our diverse products, industries, and lines of business. Please note that the pay range information provided in this posting pertains specifically to the primary location, which is the top location listed in case multiple locations are available.

Non‑Sales employees may be eligible for a discretionary incentive bonus, while Sales employees may be eligible for a sales commission. In addition to competitive compensation, Ciena offers a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, and vision plans, participation in 401(K) (USA) & DCPP (Canada) with company matching, Employee Stock Purchase Program (ESPP), Employee Assistance Program (EAP), company‑paid holidays, paid sick leave, and vacation time. We also comply with all applicable laws regarding Paid Family Leave and other leaves of absence.

At Ciena, we are committed to building and fostering an environment in which our employees feel respected, valued, and heard. Ciena values the diversity of its workforce and respects its employees as individuals. We do not tolerate any form of discrimination.

Ciena is anEqual Opportunity Employer, including disability and protected veteran status.

If contacted in relation to a job opportunity, please advise Ciena of any accommodation measures you may require.