Senior Python Developer

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.

At Ciena’s Blue Planet division, you will join an agile, innovative team advancing the automation of the world’s most complex networks. You will have the opportunity to work with leading-edge networking technologies, cloud-native architecture, and large-scale automation systems that power global communications.

How You Will Contribute

• Design, implement, and maintain cloud-native microservices using Python with FastAPI/asyncio frameworks.

• Develop async services to manage Ansible Runner execution and event workflows.

• Create and optimize REST APIs for configuration, operational data, and telemetry delivery.

• Integrate services with Apache Kafka to coordinate inter-service communication, track job execution, and publish status updates.

• Develop, optimize, and maintain Ansible playbooks (YAML) and Ansible Runner integrations to automate provisioning, configuration, and lifecycle management for network devices.

• Design and manage relational database schemas (PostgreSQL/MySQL), optimize queries, and ensure data integrity for automated workflows.

• Participate in branching strategies, pull requests, and CI/CD pipelines for automated build, test, and deployment.

The Must Haves

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science or equivalent experience.

• A minimum of 7+ years of hands-on experience in Python development, including async programming (FastAPI, asyncio).

• Strong working knowledge of Apache Kafka (topics, partitions, consumer groups, message serialization).

• Expertise with Ansible, Ansible Runner, YAML playbooks, and custom network device automation modules.

• Proficiency in PostgreSQL/MySQL schema design, data modeling, and performance tuning.

• Experience with Docker, Kubernetes/OpenShift, and microservice scaling strategies.

• Familiarity with network security best practices including SSH key management and password vaulting.

Nice to Haves

• Past experience developing network orchestration systems or telecom-grade automation solutions.

• Familiarity with multi-vendor network environments and SDN/NFV concepts.

• Experience implementing secure API gateways and service mesh architectures (e.g., Istio).

• Contributions to open-source automation frameworks.

• Knowledge of Prometheus/Grafana for metrics and ELK/OpenSearch for log aggregation.

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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.