Manager, Service Reliability Engineering

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.

Ciena is seeking an accomplished and strategic Manager, Service Reliability Engineering to lead the operational excellence of enterprise applications and drive the reliability, scalability, and performance of critical systems within the IT Software Engineering & Delivery organization. This leadership role is pivotal in ensuring seamless production support for a diverse portfolio of applications, including Salesforce, Oracle EBS, Mulesoft, Oracle Integration Cloud, ServiceNow, OTM, GTM, and custom applications. The ideal candidate will possess strong managerial expertise, technical depth, and a vision for fostering innovation and continuous improvement in application support processes.

As a key leader within the IT organization, you will oversee a high-performing team, collaborate across departments, and champion operational strategies that align with Ciena’s business objectives and technology roadmap. This role requires a proactive approach to problem-solving, a focus on automation, and a commitment to delivering exceptional user experiences.

Key Responsibilities:

Leadership & Team Management:

• Build, mentor, and lead a high-performing Application Support team, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Define and implement strategic goals for the team, ensuring alignment with organizational priorities and business needs.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to stakeholders, providing insights and recommendations to optimize application reliability and performance.

Operational Excellence:

• Infrastructure and Operations: Oversee the design, implementation, and management of robust infrastructure solutions to ensure the scalability and reliability of critical systems.
• System Monitoring: Establish proactive monitoring strategies, leveraging performance metrics and automated tools to identify and address potential issues before they impact users.
• Incident Management: Lead incident response efforts during service disruptions, ensuring swift resolution, clear communication, and minimal impact on business operations.
• Problem Solving: Drive root cause analysis for system failures and implement long-term solutions to enhance reliability and prevent recurrence.

Strategic Innovation:

• Automation: Champion the development of tools and scripts to automate repetitive tasks, improving operational efficiency and reducing manual interventions.
• Continuous Improvement: Identify opportunities for innovation and apply cutting-edge technologies and practices to improve system reliability and user experience.
• Collaboration: Partner with cross-functional teams, including development, infrastructure, and business units, to align on reliability goals and integrate best practices across the software lifecycle.

Governance & Knowledge Management:

• Documentation: Ensure comprehensive and up-to-date system documentation to support efficient troubleshooting and knowledge sharing across teams.
• Systemic Thinking: Design solutions with a holistic view of interconnected systems, anticipating broader impacts and ensuring resilience.

Qualifications:

Technical Expertise:

• Proven experience in managing and maintaining highly available systems, including cloud-based infrastructure.
• Deep knowledge of system performance optimization, troubleshooting methodologies, and industry best practices.
• Proficiency in programming and scripting to automate operational tasks and reduce manual effort.
• Solid understanding of monitoring tools, incident management platforms, and metrics analysis to ensure observability and system health.
• Familiarity with cloud platforms, databases, CI/CD pipelines, distributed systems, and security protocols.

Leadership & Communication:

• Strong communication skills (written and verbal) to effectively engage with stakeholders and cross-functional teams.
• Demonstrated ability to lead teams in high-pressure situations, maintaining composure and driving methodical problem-solving approaches.
• Analytical mindset with the ability to interpret data, metrics, and patterns to make informed decisions and predict future issues.

Strategic Vision:

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