Field Support Engineer at Ciena
Optical transport networks & critical infrastructure across Europe.
DWDM Optical Transport Networks
At Ciena, I worked as a Field Support Engineer specializing in DWDM optical transport networks, supporting large telecom customers across Europe.
This experience provided deep expertise in mission-critical telecom infrastructure, network architecture, and operational excellence that continues to shape my engineering approach today.
Technical Support & Customer Engineering
Provided comprehensive technical support for Ciena DWDM equipment, both remotely and on customer sites, covering software, hardware, and network-level issues.
Acted as customer engineer at the NOC for KPN/Qwest, supporting mission-critical backbone infrastructure where downtime was not an option. This role demanded deep technical knowledge combined with exceptional communication skills and the ability to make critical decisions under pressure.
Large-Scale Infrastructure Projects
Led a Europe-wide amplifier replacement project, coordinating upgrades across multiple sites and countries. This required meticulous planning, cross-team coordination, and execution under strict service availability constraints.
Optimized customer DWDM networks through software updates, upgrades, and hardware improvements, ensuring maximum performance and reliability while minimizing service disruption.
Installation, Testing & Commissioning
Installed, tested, and commissioned core optical transmission equipment, including racks, ODFs, ADM cards, and transmission systems. This hands-on work provided deep understanding of physical layer constraints and optical engineering principles.
Performed network migrations, provisioning, fault analysis, and on-site troubleshooting under strict safety and availability constraints. Every action required careful planning and risk assessment to maintain service continuity.
Network Engineering & Cisco Technologies
Developed hands-on expertise with Cisco technologies, formalized through CCNA-level experience, covering IP networking, routing, switching, and troubleshooting.
Supported sales engineering activities by contributing technical expertise for customer proposals and network reports, bridging the gap between technical capabilities and business requirements.
Foundation for Modern Engineering
This early career background continues to influence my work today, especially in:
- System Architecture: Understanding distributed systems and infrastructure constraints from real-world experience
- API & Integration Design: Designing interfaces that account for network realities and failure modes
- Distributed Systems: Building resilient systems that handle network partitions and latency
- Performance, Reliability & Observability: Prioritizing operational excellence and monitoring from the ground up
It anchors my software engineering work in real-world infrastructure constraints, bridging software, networks, and operations — ensuring that solutions are not just theoretically sound, but operationally viable.