Project Delivery Manager, Systems Integration, Remote North America

What will you do in your role at Ciena?

We are looking for a Project Manager for an exceptional opportunity to join in establishing and growing a new services practice within a technology leader. Ciena’s Global Services team is building a Systems Integration practice focused on virtualized edge NFV solutions including Universal Customer Premise Equipment (uCPE) hardware, Distributed Network Function Virtualization Infrastructure (D-NFVI) software, Blue Planet orchestration, third-party Virtual Network Functions (VNF’s) and other multi-vendor elements. The network edge is an area of growth driven by virtualization, technology refresh, Multi-access Edge Compute (MEC), 5G, and Internet of Things (IoT).

Your impact will be the delivery success of the practice. You will drive multiple aspects of customer projects interacting with customers, colleagues, suppliers, and partners. You will be engaged in both solutioning and delivery toward successful customer projects providing value to our clients with excellent customer experience. Our startup team will benefit from your customer focus, cross-functional collaboration, attention to detail, business acumen, and professionalism.

Responsibilities:

• Drive Systems Integration delivery projects from presales proposal input through to delivery acceptance and project closure.
• Responsible for project scope delivery adhering to and optimizing schedule, costs, and resources. Projects include Ciena, partner, and third-party deliverables.
• Act as the counterpart for customer’s program leader to ensure customer satisfaction and be the escalation point for service delivery activities.
• Be the hands-on-project manager for multiple projects.
• Prepare and present executive level project communications project tracking and stakeholder management.
• Identify, manage, and mitigate project risks.
• Collaborate with colleagues in Services, product teams, supply-chain, and sales.
• Generate add-on-sales both by identifying opportunities to add customer value through project scope and through customer satisfaction.

Experience and Personal Skills:

• The successful applicant for this role will have 8+ years of relevant experience working in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) field with prior responsibilities in program/project management roles for cloud or virtualization systems integration delivery projects. Experience with multivendor and software professional services for communication service provider or enterprise customers is preferred.
• Technical strength with network function virtualization, orchestration (MANO), and networking (L2/L3, security, routing protocols, network design) is necessary.
• Strong negotiation skills to work with customers and resource owners. Ability to mentor and lead by influence and collaboration.
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation communications skills. Strong quantitative skills. Attention to statement of work details. Customer and partner facing skills.
• Bring high energy customer-focus to the organization. Self-motivated to drive success based on organizational goals.
• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, computer science, business or equivalent experience. MS or MBA is valuable.
• PMP certification is a plus along with virtualization and networking technology certifications.
• Demonstrated skills in desktop applications as well as project management and financial tools.
• The ability to travel to support customer projects.
• Position can be located at a Ciena office or in proximity to a customer/technology hub city in North America.
• Experience with managed services and build-operate-transfer projects is a plus.

About Ciena:

Ciena is a network strategy and technology company with a passion to provide an experience, to you and our customers that is as rewarding as the outcome. We attract the best and brightest– those with outstanding talent, motivation, and the right attitude to contribute to our success. Our culture balances our openness and informality with professionalism and trust and is built on the foundation of our core values: Customer First, Integrity, Velocity, Innovation, and Outstanding People.