Senior Director, Customer Engagement Information Technology Partner

Ciena; Alpharetta (GA); On-site; USD 210,000 - 340,000; Full time

Job summary

Ciena is seeking a Senior Director of Customer Engagement Information Technology to lead the platforms powering Sales, Service, Marketing, and Digital Commerce. You will shape the technology vision, roadmaps, and delivery across leads-to-order and customer lifecycle with a cross-functional team of product owners and engineers.

You will collaborate with executives to drive measurable business value, manage vendor relationships, and champion a culture of ownership, agility, and inclusion.

Qualifications

• Proven CRM leadership with Salesforce and CPQ experience.
• Experience delivering multi-platform sales, service, marketing programs.
• Strong ability to translate business needs into product outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Own the technology roadmap for global Customer Engagement and Marketing.
• Lead agile pods delivering on CRM, CPQ, and commerce initiatives.
• Partner with CIO, EA, Data and AI teams to embed AI into workflows.
• Ensure platform health, security, and scalable performance.
• Manage vendor and SI relationships at scale.

Skills

Salesforce CRM

Lead-to-Order

Executive communication

Stakeholder management

Vendor management

Product ownership

AI collaboration

Delivery leadership

Tools

Sales Cloud

Job description

As the global leader in high-speed connectivity, Ciena is committed to a people-first approach. Our teams enjoy a culture focused on prioritizing a flexible work environment that empowers individual growth, well-being, and belonging. We're a technology company that leads with our humanity—driving our business priorities alongside meaningful social, community, and societal impact.

Location: Alpharetta, GA (alternative Maple Lawn, MD)

Reports to: VP, Chief Information Officer

Company: Ciena

About the Role

The Senior Director, Customer Engagement Information Technology Partner is a strategic technology leader accountable for the platforms, products, and technology delivery that power our Sales, Service, Marketing, and Digital Commerce experiences end-to-end. Partnering directly with the VP of Global Customer Engagement, this leader sets the technology vision and roadmap across the leads-to-order and customer lifecycle, and leads a multidisciplinary team of technical product owners, delivery leads, business analysts, and engineers to deliver scalable, modern, AI-enabled capabilities. This is a business-facing, outcomes-driven role with equal parts strategist, product leader, and delivery executive.

What You'll Do

In this role, you will:

• Serve as the single-threaded technology leader for the Global Customer Engagement and Marketing organization. Builds deep partnership with the business and earns a seat at their table
• Create and co-own the multi-year technology roadmap with business teams while aligning technology investments to revenue, customer experience, and operational outcomes.
• Lead the vision, roadmap, health, and outcomes for technology platforms like Salesforce Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Experience Cloud, CPQ platforms, digital commerce, marketing technology stack, customer master data and integration layer connecting front office to ERP, Finance and Supply Chain.
• Stay ahead of CRM, CPQ, and commerce industry trends; bring outside-in thinking
• Translate business priorities into clear product outcomes, OKRs, and measurable value
• Drive simplification, standardization, and modernization — reducing customization, technical debt, and time-to-value.
• Lead a portfolio of agile PODs organized around business capabilities. Be accountable for delivery predictability, quality, cost, and business value realization.
• Drive technology platform health including performance, security, compliance, and scalability
• Balances strategy with execution — comfortable in the boardroom and in the backlog
• Manage strategic vendor and systems integrator relationships
• Partner with Enterprise Architecture, Data, and AI teams to embed AI, automation, and analytics into customer-facing workflows
• Foster a culture of ownership, agility, customer obsession, and continuous improvement. Champion diversity, mentorship, and team engagement

What You Bring

Required Qualifications

• 10-15+ years of progressive IT leadership experience, with deep expertise in enterprise CRM (Salesforce) ecosystems
• Proven track record leading large-scale, multi-platform delivery across Sales, Service, Marketing, or Commerce
• Strong experience with CPQ, lead-to-order, and customer lifecycle processes
• Demonstrated success leading agile, product-based delivery models at scale
• Experience managing managers, architects, and product owners
• Executive-level communication, influence, and stakeholder management
• Track record of partnering with C-suite or SVP-level business leaders
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to translate technical concepts for diverse stakeholders

Preferred Qualifications

• Salesforce certifications or platform leadership credentials
• Experience with digital commerce / B2B eCommerce platforms
• Background in telecom, manufacturing, or complex global B2B environments
• Experience driving AI-enabled sales, service, or marketing transformations
• Vendor and SI management at scale

Compensation

• Pay range: TBD

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.