Waveserver Software Developer Co-op (Winter 2025)

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.

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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.

How You Will Contribute

Requirements for telecommunications networks are constantly evolving, and our products also need to advance and scale to meet the needs of our customers while also delivering uniform and consistent user experiences.

As a Waveserver Software Developer Co-op in a dynamic team environment, you will push the boundaries of what is possible in optical network solutions. You will contribute to projects that play critical roles in our network solutions and help build upon our innovative technology. You will also challenge yourself and others by bringing fresh ideas to new challenges and leading by example.

• You will play a key role in crafting, developing, testing, deploying, maintaining, and improving software.
• You will be accountable for managing individual project priorities, assignments, and timelines.
• You will participate in the full software development lifecycle, collaborating with multi-functional teams of developers, UX designers, quality assurance teams & release managers.
  
  

What Does Ciena Expect of You?

• Initiative – You are a self-starter who works with limited direction and is committed to delivering against aggressive deadlines.
• Agility – you are readily able to make key decisions and manage competing and ever-changing account priorities.
• Communication expertise – the ability to influence and tailor your message and ideas to the audience to ensure understanding and buy in.
• An ability to go ‘up and down the ladder’ – capable of seeing the big picture, but also understanding the importance of the details and analysis.
• The flexibility to work independently and as part of a broader team – you thrive in a multi-disciplinary team environment, but are comfortable working independently as required.
• Relationship builder – with an innate ability to influence, you can quickly develop trusted connections and get work done across multi sites.
• A commitment to innovation – you keep abreast of the market and competitive developments and are always keen to formulate new ideas and problem solve.
  
  

The Must Haves

• Working towards a degree in Electrical/Computer Engineering, Computer Science or a related field coupled with a proven track record in software development.
• Demonstrated ability to develop with one or more of the following programming languages - C, C++ or Python.
• Experience working with Linux-based developer tools and debugging environment such as GNU, GCC, GDB, Insight.
• Knowledge of development tools such as Git, JIRA, Yocto, Docker, Bitbucket.
• Familiarity with CI frameworks such as Jenkins, Grafana, Kubernetes.
  
  

Assets

• A passion for or experience developing software embedded solutions engineered for performance and reliability on multi-processor, highly concurrent systems.
  
  

Why Ciena

• We are big proponents of life-work integration and provide the flexibility and tools to make it a reality with remote work and potentially, part-time work.
• We believe an inclusive, diverse, and barrier-free work environment makes for empowered and committed employees.
• We recognize the importance of well-being and offer programs and benefits to support and sustain the mental and physical health of our employees and their families and provide a variety of paid family leave programs.
• We are committed to employee development, offering tuition reimbursement, in-house learning, and mentorship opportunities.
• Great work deserves recognition. We have a robust recognition program, with ongoing and enhanced awards for exemplary performance
  
  

Compensation And Benefits (Students)

The pay range for this position is $24.50-$33.00/hour

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.

In addition to competitive compensation, Ciena offers students access to the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), company-paid holidays, paid sick leave, and vacation pay as required by applicable laws.

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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.