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Ciena salary estimate

$106,117yearly

$51.02 hourly rate

Entry-level salary
$73,000 yearly salary
Updated December 15, 2025

Ciena Salary Overview

Ciena's average salary of $106,117 reflects the company's diverse job roles and competitive compensation strategies. The highest-paying positions include Director of Software Development earning an impressive $186,698 annually, and Senior Manager roles at about $126,995. Additionally, roles such as PV Design Engineer and Information Technology Senior Analyst command salaries of $119,317 and $111,419 respectively.

Job Variations

On the other end of the spectrum, entry-level positions like Electronic Assembler earn significantly less, around $36,978. The marketing department boasts the highest average salary at $127,662, while administrative roles are at the lower end, with salaries averaging $59,719.

Location and Competitors

Ciena's salaries vary by location, with California offering the highest due to its competitive job market and cost of living. Comparatively, Ciena's competitors like Netgear and Tellabs present average salaries of $134,655 and $116,566, respectively, highlighting Ciena's competitive edge. Overall, Ciena's pay structure illustrates its commitment to attracting and retaining top talent in the tech sector.

Highest paying jobs at Ciena

The highest paying jobs at Ciena are director of software development, senior manager, pv design engineer, and information technology senior analyst. Director of software development jobs at Ciena earn an average yearly salary of $186,698, Ciena senior manager jobs average $126,995, and Ciena pv design engineer jobs average $119,317.

The lowest paying Ciena roles include electronic assembler and material coordinator. Ciena electronic assembler average salary is $36,978 per year. So while the average Ciena salary is $106,117 there is a big variation in pay depending on the role.

Highest paying jobs at Ciena

RankJob titleAverage Ciena salaryHourly rate
1Director Of Software Development$186,698$89.76
2Senior Manager$126,995$61.06
3PV Design Engineer$119,317$57.36
4Information Technology Senior Analyst$113,234$54.44
5Project Management Lead$112,688$54.18
6Lead Technician$112,269$53.98
7Director Of Facilities$111,143$53.43
8Oracle Functional Consultant$111,009$53.37
9Software Engineer$109,499$52.64
10Android Developer$108,748$52.28
11Oracle Technical Consultant$107,943$51.90
12Systems Administrator$99,305$47.74
13Optical Instrument Specialist$97,150$46.71
14Java Developer$95,787$46.05
15Project Manager$90,628$43.57
16Information Technology Analyst$89,198$42.88
17Executive Assistant$88,161$42.39
18Electronics Technician$82,903$39.86
19Technical Editor$71,705$34.47
20Account Associate$66,087$31.77

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Average Ciena salary by state

Ciena pays the highest salaries in California due to higher costs of living and competition in the state.

RankStateAverage Ciena salaryHourly rate
1California$125,629$60.40
2New York$102,644$49.35
3Maryland$96,394$46.34
4Texas$94,169$45.27
5Colorado$93,998$45.19
6Georgia$87,045$41.85
7Florida$83,225$40.01

How much does Ciena pay by location?

The average Ciena salary varies by location. Ciena salaries are the highest in San Jose, CA, at $130,438 per year. Ciena pays the second highest average salary in Spokane Valley, WA, at $118,024 per year. It's important to factor in the cost of living when negotiating a salary or choosing a place to work.

Highest paying Ciena locations

RankLocationAverage Ciena salaryHourly rate
1San Jose, CA$130,438$62.71
2Spokane Valley, WA$118,024$56.74
3New York, NY$102,816$49.43
4Acton, MA$99,253$47.72
5Middletown, NJ$97,172$46.72
6Linthicum, MD$96,476$46.38
7Austin, TX$94,717$45.54
8Greenwood Village, CO$93,906$45.15
9Morrisville, NC$88,261$42.43
10Alpharetta, GA$87,190$41.92
11Miramar, FL$82,615$39.72

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Ciena salaries by department

Salaries at Ciena vary depending on the department you work in. Ciena salaries in the marketing department are the highest with an average salary of $127,662. Employees in the engineering department at Ciena receive relatively high salaries as well, with an average salary of $111,419 per year. Departments that don't pay as well at Ciena include the administrative and the accounting organizational functions, with employees earning average salaries of $59,719 and $71,533, respectively.

Average Ciena salary by department

RankDepartmentAverage Ciena salaryHourly rate
1Marketing$127,662$61.38
2Engineering$111,419$53.57
3IT$108,484$52.16
4Sales$103,048$49.54
5Finance$100,883$48.50
6Customer Service$95,850$46.08
7Human Resources$84,102$40.43
8Plant/Manufacturing$83,634$40.21
9Facilities$81,743$39.30
10Supply Chain$78,985$37.97
11Accounting$71,533$34.39
12Administrative$59,720$28.71

How much does Ciena pay by department?

Best paying Ciena engineering salaries

RankPositionAverage Ciena salaryHourly rate
1Director Of Software Development$186,698$89.76
2Senior Oracle Database Administrator$126,896$61.01
3Engineering Laboratory Manager$126,677$60.90
4Technical Team Lead$119,906$57.65
5PV Design Engineer$119,317$57.36
6Project Leader$117,068$56.28
7Global Engineering Manager$111,923$53.81
8Software Engineer$109,499$52.64
9Android Developer$108,748$52.28
10Oracle Technical Consultant$107,943$51.90
11Senior Electronics Technician$103,842$49.92
12Optical Instrument Specialist$97,150$46.71
13Java Developer$95,787$46.05
14Performance Tester$91,796$44.13
15Fiber Optic Technician$52,017$25.01

Best paying Ciena IT salaries

RankPositionAverage Ciena salaryHourly rate
1Director Of Infrastructure Operations$148,948$71.61
2Software Project Manager$135,528$65.16
3Field System Engineer$119,441$57.42
4Project Leader$117,068$56.28
5Information Technology Senior Analyst$113,234$54.44
6Senior Technologist$106,978$51.43
7Printed Circuit Designer$106,115$51.02
8Unit Manager$102,421$49.24
9Systems Administrator$99,305$47.74
10Network Engineer$97,915$47.07
11Technical Support Technician$89,406$42.98
12Information Technology Analyst$89,198$42.88
13Technical Support Specialist$86,075$41.38
14Network Administrator$74,059$35.61

Best paying Ciena plant/manufacturing salaries

RankPositionAverage Ciena salaryHourly rate
1Director Of Service And Operations$131,629$63.28
2Group Leader/Senior Group Leader$119,273$57.34
3Manufacturing Manager$116,385$55.95
4Lead Operator$113,494$54.56
5Quality Assurance Engineer$112,990$54.32
6Global Operations Manager$112,736$54.20
7Senior Process Engineer$108,084$51.96
8Equipment Tester$91,728$44.10
9Production Specialist$74,408$35.77
10Quality Assurance Technician$64,426$30.97
11Process Technician$53,697$25.82
12Field Operator$48,411$23.27
13Mechanical Assembler$38,303$18.41
14Electronic Assembler$36,979$17.78

Ciena competitors’ average salaries

Average salaries at Ciena competitors, like Netgear, Tellabs, and SeaChange International, vary. Netgear employees earn the highest salaries, with an average yearly salary of $134,655. The average salary at Tellabs is $116,566 per year, and the average salary at SeaChange International is $112,781 per year.

Highest paying Ciena competitors

RankCompany nameZippia scoreAverage salary
1Netgear4.8$134,655
2Tellabs4.7$116,566
3SeaChange International4.8$112,781
4Harmonic4.7$111,731
5NextWave Wireless4.2$108,526
6Nokia4.6$108,295
7Dialogic Corp.4.7$106,764
8Acme Packet4.6$102,280
9EXFO4.4$102,267
10Cambium Networks4.2$100,111
11ST Engineering iDirect4.3$95,148
12Sonus4.5$94,714
13Tekelec4.5$92,276
14Ericsson4.6$90,626
15Nokia Networks Inc4.7$89,867
16Zetron3.8$83,744
17Lucent4.5$78,367
18Solid Technologies4.1$72,430
19Terayon3.7$69,980
20CableLabs4.6$67,883

Recently added Ciena salaries

JobLocationDate addedSalary
Resident Engineer 4, Technical SupportBaltimore, MD06/28/2025$142,418
Lead, IT ApplicationsBaltimore, MD06/27/2025$142,418
Svt/Pv Engineer 3Baltimore, MD06/24/2025$148,803
Director, Leadership & Management DevelopmentBaltimore, MD06/07/2025$129,700
Wavelogic Software InternAtlanta, GA06/05/2025$55,306

What employees say about salary at Ciena

Employee reviews
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5.0
A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2023
Pros of working at Ciena

Work-life balance is outstanding

Cons of working at Ciena

fewer career opportunities to move from one role to other

Ciena benefits

health benefits and wellness perks are the most valuable.

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Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Ciena, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Ciena. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Ciena. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Ciena. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Ciena and its employees or that of Zippia.

Ciena may also be known as or be related to Ciena, Ciena Corp and Ciena Corporation.