Full-Time

Wavelogic Software Developer – New Grad

Posted on 4/15/2025

Ciena

Ciena

10,001+ employees

Delivers adaptive optical networking services

Compensation Overview

$68.5k - $109.5k/yr

+ Discretionary Bonus

Company Does Not Provide H1B Sponsorship

Atlanta, GA, USA

In Person

Bachelor's

Category
Software Engineering (1)
Required Skills
C/C++
Linux/Unix

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Requirements
  • Bachelor’s degree in Electrical/Computer Engineering
  • C, C++ programming language experience
  • Good knowledge of embedded systems, device drivers, Linux Operating System knowledge, mutual exclusion, synchronization, interrupt handling, inter-process communication, etc.;
  • Positive work attitude, highly motivated and an ability to seek out answers with a willingness to learn and work independently.
  • Strong verbal and technical writing skills;
  • Collaborates well in a team environment
Responsibilities
  • Develop understanding and expertise in next-gen network solutions using optical transport and switching technologies like OTN, Ethernet etc.
  • Develop embedded software skills to design, develop, validate and document advanced networking features and capabilities which are deployed in service provider networks.
  • Trouble shoot and fix reported issues with embedded software, Identify root cause, diagnose, debug and deliver robust timely fixes.
  • Collaborate with multi-functional teams to design, develop and test the next-gen modem technologies.
Desired Qualifications
  • Familiarity with datacom & telecom concepts such as DWDM, SONET/SDH, OTN, Ethernet, TCP/IP
  • Low-level Real-Time Software/Firmware Development
  • Ability to understand CPU Hardware architectures, Hardware Functional Specifications and Hardware Timing Diagrams
  • Linux, VxWorks
  • Linux as a software development environment
  • Exposure to CLI, TL1, SNMP, NETCONF, REST, gRPC.
  • Design and development tools such as: Git, Eclipse, JIRA, Confluence, GDB, Yocto
  • YANG modeling language and toolchains
  • Scripting experience, Python, Go, BASH
  • Automation and Test

Ciena designs and sells optical and routing hardware, automation software, and professional services to build adaptive networks for telecom providers, cable operators, governments, and enterprises. Its systems combine physical networking gear with software that automates traffic routing and resource management so networks can adjust in real time to changing demand. It differentiates itself by offering an end-to-end solution—hardware, software, and services—plus a large global customer base and close collaboration with customers and partners. Its goal is to enable richer, more connected experiences by helping customers deploy flexible, scalable networks that meet evolving digital needs.

Company Size

10,001+

Company Stage

IPO

Headquarters

Linthicum, Maryland

Founded

1992

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Q2 fiscal 2026 revenue jumped 40% to $1.57 billion, raising guidance.
  • Backlog reached $7.7 billion, with nearly all new orders slated for 2027.
  • e& UAE and India demand validate Ciena’s AI-driven optical growth thesis.

What critics are saying

  • Two cloud customers each exceed 10% of revenue, concentrating June 2026 risk.
  • Supply shortages cap shipments; management said revenue would rise without constraints.
  • Nokia’s Infinera integration and Cisco’s optical stack pressure Ciena’s share into 2027.

What makes Ciena unique

  • WaveLogic 6 Extreme delivers 1.6 Tb/s per wavelength with 50% lower power.
  • Ciena dominates live quantum-safe optical encryption trials with Toshiba and Quantum Corridor.
  • India hosts Ciena’s largest R&D center outside North America, supporting rapid product localization.

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Benefits

Health Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

401(k) Company Match

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Company Paid Holidays

Paid Sick Leave

Vacation Time

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

0%

1 year growth

0%

2 year growth

0%
Yahoo Finance
Aug 20th, 2026
Ciena's service provider revenues surge 28% as MOFN demand grows in India and beyond

Ciena Corporation's service provider business grew 28% year over year in its most recent quarter, driven by demand for managed optical fibre networks ("MOFN") as artificial intelligence fuels need for high-capacity connectivity. Revenues from India more than doubled, with service providers partnering with cloud providers to deliver MOFN connectivity. Management noted service providers are investing in optical infrastructure after roughly five years of underinvestment whilst focusing on 5G. Ciena's second-quarter fiscal 2026 revenues rose 40% year over year to $1.57 billion, with backlog reaching $7.7 billion. The company raised its fiscal 2026 revenue guidance to $6.3 billion, implying 32% growth at the midpoint. However, Ciena faces competition from Cisco Systems and Nokia, whose recent Infinera acquisition strengthened its optical networking portfolio.

Yahoo Finance
Aug 19th, 2026
Ciena CEO sells 2,952 shares for $1.3M, retains $109M stake

Gary B. Smith, President and CEO of Ciena Corporation, sold 2,952 shares of common stock for approximately $1.3 million on 17 August 2026, according to a SEC Form 4 filing. The sale was executed as part of a Rule 10b5-1 plan adopted in October 2025, which allows for scheduled transactions to avoid concerns regarding material non-public information. Following the transaction, Smith maintains a substantial direct stake of 246,030 shares, representing a market value of $109 million as of 17 August 2026. Ciena develops and delivers integrated telecommunications infrastructure solutions, including specialised hardware, software applications, and professional services. The company has a market capitalisation of $63 billion and trailing twelve-month revenue of $5.6 billion.

TelecomTV
Aug 6th, 2026
What's up with... MVNOs, NTT Docomo, Ciena.

What's up with... MVNOs, NTT Docomo, Ciena. Aug 6, 2026 * MVNOs set to take 30% of UK mobile market * NTT Docomo Business to mine the B2B sector with IOWN * Ciena and Toshiba team up for quantum-safe trial In today's industry news roundup: UK MVNO market set to boom in next five years, according to research firm; NTT Docomo takes IOWN-based optical connectivity to Chile; Chicago is home to the latest quantum-safe connectivity trial of note; and much more! The MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) market in the UK is set for significant growth during the next few years as increasingly cost-conscious customers opt for the mobile services and products on offer from an increasing number of virtual operators, including established brands such as Tesco Mobile, Sky Mobile, Lebara and Lyca Mobile and "a new breed of digital competitors" such as fintech players Revolut and N26 that are "spurring new customer journeys that threaten to upend the traditional telecom landscape," according to research firm FDM CCS Insight. According to the analyst house, the number of connections to MVNOs in the UK - excluding operator sub-brands such as VMO2's giffgaff and VodafoneThree's Voxi - is expected to grow from about 20.3 million at the end of 2025 (representing 22% of the total mobile market, excluding machine-to-machine connections) to 30.7 million (30% of the total market) by the end of 2031, a leap of about 50%. As a result, total UK MVNO service revenues are expected to almost double from just under £2.4bn in 2025 to more than £4.5bn in 2031. Kester Mann, director of consumer and connectivity at FDM CCS Insight, described the "rise of MVNOs" as "bittersweet for network operators", as "virtual providers offer a path to higher wholesale revenue as telcos connect new customers to their networks" while at the same time resulting in ever greater retail competition from low-cost providers "that threatens to stymie elusive industry efforts to grow". The result will be "years of customer losses" for the three main infrastructure-based mobile operators, BT Group's EE, VMO2 and VodafoneThree, predicts Mann. NTT Docomo Business has launched a proof of concept in partnership with Chile's state-owned copper mining company Codelco to test remote operations using the Japanese firm's IOWN (innovative optical and wireless network) all-photonics network (APN) architecture. The initiative, which is part of a wider research project commissioned by Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, will see Codelco connect one of its copper mines with a remote operations centre located 1,500km away via an IOWN APN. The aim of the study is to assess the feasibility of remotely operating heavy machinery using high-capacity, low latency communications links, such as in a copper mine, in order to boost safety and operational efficiency. NTT Docomo will link the El Teniente copper mine to a remote centre in the Chilean city of Rancagua, running high-definition video feeds and remote operations via high-speed photonic connections. The Japanese operator's parent company, NTT Group, was the initiator of the IOWN model, which is now being adopted and supported by an increasing number of partners: NTT was the founder of the IOWN Global Forum (you can find out more about the forum in this TelecomTV interview). Optical networking giant Ciena has teamed up with Toshiba and Quantum Corridor, a Chicago-area quantum-ready network specialist that is "connecting enterprise, research, government, and datacentre partners through quantum-safe connectivity, precision timing, and quantum compute access", for a quantum-safe networking trial. The trial, already completed, showed how a combination of optical encryption with post-quantum cryptography (PQC) algorithms and quantum key distribution (QKD) can help organisations "protect critical in-flight data". Ciena noted in this announcement that the trial, which was conducted across Quantum Corridor's live production network between datacentres in Chicago and Hammond, Indiana, "successfully validated 1.6 Tbit/s of encrypted connectivity using Ciena's Waveserver platform powered by WL6e, alongside existing WaveLogic 5 Extreme (WL5e) 800G encrypted traffic running on the same RLS [reconfigurable line system]... The trial also showcased interworking with Toshiba's QKD servers, which provide quantum-generated keys to both Ciena's optical encryption systems." Ciena also noted that the trial "comes as governments and enterprises accelerate planning for the post-quantum era. Governments across the globe are issuing mandates to ensure quantum-readiness to transition information systems to NIST-approved PQC standards, reinforcing the urgency for critical infrastructure operators and businesses to begin preparing the migration now." Still with the optical vendor... e& UAE, part of the broader e& empire, is deploying optical and software solutions from Ciena to "build a future-ready, high-capacity dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) network capable of handling surging traffic demands," the vendor announced in this press release. "This network enhancement will enable e& UAE to power the next wave of digital growth with greater scalability, ultra-high-capacity, and the foundation needed for the massive demands of the advanced digital services," it added. Ciena is supplying e& UAE with its RLS and Waveserver platform equipped with WaveLogic 6 Extreme (WL6e) 1.6Tbit/s coherent optics as well as its Navigator Network Control Suite for "end-to-end network visibility and automation". Marwan Bin Shakar, CTO at e& UAE, noted: "This new DWDM network represents a significant step forward in the capacity and scalability of our infrastructure, helping the region respond to rapidly growing bandwidth demand. We selected Ciena because of its proven leadership in high-capacity optical networking and its ability to deliver scalable, resilient and low-latency infrastructure. With Ciena's technology, we can provide customers across the Middle East with connectivity designed to support their evolving needs." It has been a humbling few weeks for the big AI companies, as questions have been raised over the safety of their latest products, with both OpenAI and Anthropic finding their models had gone rogue and behaved like cybercriminals. We can now add Meta to that list, after the Facebook parent revealed one of its models had connected to the internet to carry out an unauthorised attack on another organisation's systems. A Meta spokesperson told the BBC that it was investigating a hack that had been caused by a "misconfiguration" by an independent tester during trials carried out by AI security vendor Irregular. Irregular also carried out tests for Anthropic's AI model that had gained access to three other companies' systems. Meta hasn't revealed much else about the attack, saying it is investigating, but it is the fourth incident to be disclosed by a major AI developer in recent weeks, with OpenAI involved in two of those incidents. Rakuten Mobile has integrated Anthropic's AI model Claude into its corporate generative AI service, Rakuten AI for Business, "to deliver new research and data analysis capabilities," the Japanese operator announced. "The features are designed to assist corporate clients in information gathering, data analysis and decision-making," it stated. Launched in January 2025, Rakuten AI for Business "supports a wide range of business activities for corporate clients and is optimized for Japanese culture, regulations and business customs," noted the operator. - The staff, TelecomTV Just published! Download TelecomTV's Network Automation for the AI-Native Telco Report for exclusive insights into the automated network advances being made by key telecom operators from around the world... The AI-Native Telco Forum returns to Düsseldorf on 8-9 September. Join 200 senior telecom leaders as the industry moves from proving AI works to making it pay at scale. Spaces are limited - secure your place now.

BISinfotech
Aug 6th, 2026
Ciena appoints Prashant Ramesh Malkani as Vice President and country leader for India.

Ciena appoints Prashant Ramesh Malkani as Vice President and country leader for India. Ciena has named Prashant Ramesh Malkani to lead its India business. He reports to Amit Malik, Ciena's Vice President and General Manager, Asia Pacific, Japan, and India. Malkani joins Ciena with more than 25 years of leadership experience spanning the telecommunications and technology sectors. Most recently, he served as Head of Nokia India's Network Infrastructure business. Throughout his career, he has played an active role in advancing network innovation and customer success across service provider and enterprise segments. He holds an MBA in Marketing Management and a bachelor's degree in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering. "India is one of the world's fastest-growing internet markets, and few can match the scale of its digital economy and the tremendous opportunities and demand increasingly driven by AI. "Prashant brings an exceptional combination of industry expertise, customer focus, and business leadership, and he will help us strengthen our customer relationships and expand our presence in this critical market," said Amit Malik, Ciena's Vice President and General Manager, Asia Pacific, Japan, and India. For more than two decades, Ciena has helped India's leading service providers and digital infrastructure operators meet growing bandwidth demand and accelerate digital transformation. India is also home to Ciena's largest R&D center outside North America, where a workforce of more than 2,000 employees is developing the next generation of networking, automation, and AI-ready technologies that power networks around the world. Ciena is the global leader in high-speed connectivity. Bisinfotech build the world's most advanced networks to support exponential growth in bandwidth demand. By harnessing the power of its networking systems, interconnects, automation software, and services, Ciena revolutionizes data transmission and network management. With unparalleled expertise and innovation, Bisinfotech empower its customers, partners, and communities to thrive in the AI era.

Quantum Computing Report
Aug 5th, 2026
Quantum Corridor, Ciena, and Toshiba validate 1.6 Tb/s quantum-safe encryption on live fiber network.

Quantum Corridor, Ciena, and Toshiba validate 1.6 Tb/s quantum-safe encryption on live fiber network. Midwest network infrastructure developer Quantum Corridor, optical networking provider Ciena (NYSE: CIEN), and Toshiba have completed a field trial of high-speed quantum-safe optical encryption across a live commercial network. Conducted on Quantum Corridor's production fiber network connecting data center nodes between Chicago, Illinois, and Hammond, Indiana, the trial validated 1.6 Terabits per second (Tb/s) of encrypted optical capacity secured simultaneously by post-quantum cryptography (PQC) and Quantum Key Distribution (QKD). The field deployment utilized Ciena's Waveserver platform powered by WaveLogic 6 Extreme (WL6e) coherent optics to deliver wire-speed, optical-layer AES-256-GCM encryption. The platform ran NIST-certified post-quantum cryptographic algorithms in tandem with Toshiba's QKD servers, which continuously fed quantum-generated symmetric key material directly into Ciena's optical encryption system. The trial operated alongside existing WaveLogic 5 Extreme (WL5e) 800G encrypted traffic over the same RLS photonic line system, demonstrating that legacy 800G optical links can be upgraded to support PQC algorithms via software without replacing physical line hardware. [ Live 1.6 Tb/s Hybrid Quantum-Safe Architecture] Chicago Data Center (ORD 10) | 21.8 km Metro Fiber | Hammond Data Center (Digital Crossroad) | | Physical Layer Security (Toshiba QKD) Algorithmic Security (NIST PQC) - Real-Time Symmetric Key Generation. - Software-Upgradable PQC Protocols. - Optical Fiber Co-Propagating Channel. - AES-256-GCM Optical Layer Encryption. - Interoperable Key Injection via Ciena Waveserver. - Ciena WaveLogic 6 Extreme (1.6 Tb/s). By unifying PQC and QKD within a single operational network transport layer, the trial addresses "harvest now, decrypt later" security risks, where malicious actors store encrypted fiber-optic traffic to decrypt once cryptographically relevant quantum computers become available. The deployment establishes a flexible defense-in-depth framework: NIST-standardized PQC algorithms provide mathematical protection, while Toshiba's QKD infrastructure adds a physical layer of key security derived from quantum mechanics. The accomplishment builds on Quantum Corridor and Toshiba's previous cross-state QKD demonstration. As a member of the Bloch Tech Hub and the Chicago Quantum Exchange ecosystem, Quantum Corridor is scaling its planned 263-mile fiber network to serve research universities, defense contractors, and financial institutions requiring high-bandwidth, quantum-resistant data transmission. Review the official trial announcement on Ciena Investor here, and examine its previous coverage of Quantum Corridor and Toshiba's First Cross-State QKD Demonstration here. August 5, 2026

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