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.
The opportunity
3-12 month internship starting June 2027.
Since 1992, Ciena has been driven by a relentless pursuit of network innovation. We believe in a network that grows smarter, more agile, and more responsive every day. This means that when you digitally interact in your world - picking up the phone, streaming video, texting a friend or loved one – your interactions are being enabled by Ciena technologies. Ciena makes your social/entertainment/business existence REAL.
Ciena is seeking early in career Software Engineers to work with our engineering team and help drive the development of the Service-Aware Operating System (SAOS), in order to support our customers in developing and deploying their virtualized networks.
The responsibilities
- Develop embedded software on the Ciena NOS, which is a modified Linux operating system
- Participate in all stages of software development - requirements analysis, architect and high-level design, implementation and testing
- Troubleshoot software issues, provide customer and verification support
- Design and develop unit tests and test-automation suites
- Engage with Product Owners and System Architects to evolve software applications adopting new features and technologies without compromising performance
- Influence the software architecture, improve resiliency, debuggability and maintainability
What technical experience and/or professional and personal skills are required for this role?
- Excellent analytical, problem solving and programming skills (C, C++, Python)
- Excellent communication and technical documentation skills
- Excellent organization skills to manage time, resources, and priorities
- Familiarity with Linux development environment
- Ideal candidate will have hands-on experience or be familiar with the following:
- Knowledge of network routers/switches or routing protocols (OSPF, BGP, etc.)
- Experience in open-source software development or usage of Linux OS (ideally Debian), containers and Kubernetes
- Experience with automated test frameworks such as Jenkins
- Experience with design and development tools such as Atlassian (Bitbucket, Confluence, Jira), Eclipse, GDB, etc.
- Independent self-starter and capable of effectively managing priorities to achieve business objectives
- Comfortable in a team environment while still taking accountability and working independently as needed
