Technical Sales Lead, based in Denver, CO

Ciena Canada; United States; On-site; USD 204,000 - 326,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical

Dental

Vision

401(k)/DCPP with company matching

Employee Stock Purchase Program

Employee Assistance Program

Job summary

Ciena Canada is seeking a Senior Technical Sales Lead to support the Blue Planet sales team from Denver, CO. You will drive technology evaluations, articulate product positioning, and manage PoC criteria while maintaining strong customer relationships throughout the sales cycle.

The role requires 8+ years in pre-sales or project delivery for OSS platforms and 10+ years in telecom networking, including 5G. Travel domestically is expected.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in senior pre-sales or project delivery within the OSS platform industry.
• 10+ years of telecom networking tech including WAN/LAN, network infra, and 5G.
• Direct experience selling or delivering OSS platforms: Network Orchestration, Activation, physical and virtual.
• Experience in network and service assurance, performance and SQM; inventory systems.
• Strong verbal and written communication; ability to scope and manage customer evaluations.

Responsibilities

• Present product at a high level to customer prospects.
• Conduct product demonstrations at meetings, conferences and seminars.
• Coordinate RFIs/RFPs with Solution Architect support.
• Manage product evaluation process and define PoC success criteria.
• Support pricing using standard product price book.
• Lead creation of Services Estimation and Statement of Work.
• Be the technical resource for customer questions and escalations.

Skills

Communication

Travel readiness

Tools

Amdocs OSS

Ericsson OSS

Netcracker OSS

Oracle OSS

Nokia OSS

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.

The Technical Sales Lead is a technical resource supporting Blue Planet sales team and is responsible for actively driving and managing the technology evaluation in the sales process, working in conjunction with the sales leader, Solution Architect as a technical advisor. They must be able to articulate technology and product positioning to both business and technical users, identify technical issues at assigned accounts to ensure customer satisfaction through all stages of the sales process. They will establish and maintain strong customer relationships throughout and after the sales cycle.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Present the product at a high level to individual customer prospects.
• Occasionally conduct product demonstrations at meetings, conferences, seminars, etc.
• Co-ordinate and manage the response to functional and technical elements of RFIs/RFPs with support from the Solution Architect.
• Manage the product evaluation process and create any Proof of Concept (PoC) success criteria documentation with support of the Solution Architect and System Engineering teams.
• Support the Sales Leader in the Pricing of a solution using the standard product price book.
• Lead and own the creation of the Services Estimation and associated Statement of Order (SOW). This includes the co-ordination and creation of any critical project review material.
• Be the customer technical product resource for questions, including technical escalations to product support and delivery services teams.

The Must Haves

• Minimum 8 years in a senior pre-sales or project delivery role within the OSS platform industry.
• Over 10 years' experience of telecommunication networking technologies including; WAN's, LANs, and network infrastructure technologies (including L0/L1/L2/L3 Switching & Routing and Virtual Network Functions) and 5G (Wireless).
• Direct experience in the sale and/or delivery of at least one of the following OSS platforms: Network Orchestration - Activation - Physical and Virtual.
• Network and Service Assurance, Performance and SQM.
• Inventory systems supporting planning or service provisioning.

Good interpersonal verbal and written communications skills including experience supporting the scoping, managing and executing customer product evaluations.

Outstanding organizational and problem-solving skills, including the ability to meet a business requirement with a technical solution, even in stressful customer situations

Ability to travel domestically and sometimes on short notice

This role is Based out of Denver, CO USA and we are expecting that the candidate lives in that location and is able to attend customer offices on a daily basis as needed. We are not expecting to support relocation costs for people looking to take this role.

Nice to Haves

• Existing knowledge within Tier 1 CSP companies
• Understanding of the Telco OSS ecosystem and ideally deep knowledge of one or more of the existing OSS providers products - Amdocs, Ericsson, Netcracker, Oracle, Nokia etc.
• Experience in OSS Inventory products and the deployment cycle of these products into CSP networks.
• Experience in the creation of Solution Requirement documents as part of an OSS deployment project.

Pay Range

The annual total target compensation pay range for this position is $204, 200 - $326, 200. This includes both base and incentive compensation.

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
• 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
• 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 an Equal Opportunity Employer, inclu