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.
How You Will Contribute:
We are seeking a mission-driven Senior Business Architect to support and shape the strategic direction of our federal government solutions portfolio, with a focus on Ciena’s OEM technologies, partner capabilities and integrated network solutions. This role will drive enterprise-level architecture initiatives that align federal customer objectives, modernization strategies, and network transformation programs with Ciena, CGSI and partner capabilities and offerings.
You will act as a key liaison between business units, engineering, federal sales teams, and public sector clients to define innovative business architectures, solutions and services that support scalable, secure, and mission-critical government IT infrastructure.\
Strategic Architecture & Federal Alignment
- Lead the development of business capability models that map government customer missions to Ciena OEM and CGSI government offerings.
- Translate federal modernization mandates (e.g., TIC 3.0, Zero Trust, DODIN, JADC2, EIS transition) into actionable architectural roadmaps.
- Support the development of white papers, strategic solutions and unsolicited proposals aligning with government-wide acquisition initiatives and contracts (GWACs), OTAs, and agency-specific needs.
- Architect enterprise-level business solutions incorporating the full suite of Ciena’s portfolio including packet-optical, Wave Logic, Blue Planet, and adaptive IP technologies.
- Analyze mission customer use cases (DISA, DoD, DHS, VA, etc.) and design business-process frameworks supporting their transformation objectives.
- Align Ciena and CGSI - sales, engineering, product management, services, program capture, partners, etc., with large federal system integrators (e.g., Leidos, GDIT, Booz Allen), service providers (AT&T, Verizon, LUMEN) and Cloud Providers (Amazon, Google, Oracle) for joint government solutions, services and initiatives.
- Partner with federal account managers, solution engineers, and program managers to define customer-centric business outcomes.
- Facilitate workshops with government stakeholders to map mission needs to network infrastructure capabilities.
- Influence RFIs/RFPs with architectural insights that improve Ciena’s positioning in government bids.
- Bachelor’s degree in business, Systems Engineering, Information Technology, or related field; Master’s or MBA preferred.
- 8+ years of experience in business architecture or strategy roles within OEM, government integrator, or federal contractor environments.
- Deep familiarity with Ciena technologies, government telecommunications/networking procurement cycles, and federal program structures.
- Strong understanding of federal IT mandates (OMB, NIST, FISMA, FedRAMP) and acquisition vehicles (e.g., EIS, GSA Schedules, SEWP).
- Experience aligning technology solutions to mission outcomes in defense, civilian, or intel environments.
- Ability to navigate complex stakeholder landscapes across OEM, integrators, and government agencies.
- TS/SCI or ability to obtain government security clearance
- Strong technical aptitude with the ability to learn new technical information quickly.
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to create a message to share verbally or in written form.
- Understands customer business outcomes, as described by the customer, with strong
knowledge of customer industry verticals.
- Understands the sales process and partners with the Account Executive to execute for
- Excellent skills for building rapport and trust with team members, customers, and partners.
- Travel requirements vary and can be up to 30% depending upon work location.
The annual total target compensation pay range for this position is $255,300 - $421,800 USD. 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, 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.
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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, including disability and protected veteran status.
If contacted in relation to a job opportunity, please advise Ciena of any accommodation measures you may require.
Top Skills
What We Do
Ciena (NYSE: CIEN) is a global leader in networking systems, services, and software. We build the world’s most adaptive networks to enable our customers to deliver richer, more connected experiences for all users. At our core, Ciena is a company rooted in people. We prioritize deep, collaborative relationships within our teams and alongside our customers, partners, and communities around the world.
For three-plus decades, we’ve brought our humanity to our relentless pursuit of innovation. We continue to lead the evolution of networking with a strong track record of industry firsts. As end-user expectations skyrocket, our customers and their networks must transform. Ciena powers this transformation by driving next-generation solutions built for maximum openness and agility—today and into the future.
Corporate/Brand Values:
• Customer First
• Integrity
• Velocity
• Innovation
• Outstanding People
We're the perfect size for you to make an impact. W
Only Ciena has the depth of expertise and the culture of collaboration and partnership required to help our partners evolve. We do this by strategically integrating hardware, services, and software in an open environment to ensure our clients’ networks are ‘fit for flexibility’ today and into the f
Why Work With Us
We are known for our industry-firsts, including the first coherent optical solution, converged packet-optical platform, and intelligence automation platform. Our commitment extends beyond innovation, logging in over 35,000 volunteer hours and $2 million to worthy causes in 2023. We're the perfect size and culture for you to make a difference.
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