Senior Release Engineer - Linux Distribution
About The Position
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 advancing the future of networking through innovative systems, services, and software that enable global connectivity. This role contributes directly to the delivery of a next-generation network operating system by ensuring build reliability, scalability, and security. The position enables engineering velocity and product quality across large-scale development teams.
Requirements
- 10+ years of experience in building Linux distributions
- Background in building custom Linux distributions
- Interest in developing expertise in Yocto Project and Bitbake
- Programming and scripting using Go, Rust, C/C++, Python, or Bash
- Experience working with modern C/C++ build systems such as Meson or Ninja and compilers such as GCC or Clang
- Familiarity with CI/CD systems such as Tekton or Jenkins
Nice To Haves
- Packaging using Debian (.deb) or RPM formats
- Contributions to Linux distributions such as Debian, Fedora, openSUSE, or the Yocto Project
- Participation in open-source software development projects
- Experience working with modern toolchains including Rust/Cargo, Go, Clang, Meson/Ninja, LTO, molt, iwyu, pahole, diffoscope, debuginfod, and dwz
Responsibilities
- Own and evolve the build infrastructure for SAOS 10.x network operating system
- Develop and maintain Bitbake recipes supporting a large-scale software stack
- Provide technical guidance on Yocto, Bitbake, and distribution engineering practices to development teams
- Diagnose and resolve complex build and integration issues across CI/CD pipelines
- Optimize distributed build performance including ccache infrastructure and test reliability
- Design and implement secure, reproducible, and SLSA-compliant build systems
- Integrate modern open-source tooling to maintain a secure and up-to-date software supply chain
Benefits
- medical, dental, and vision plans
- participation in 401(K) (USA) & DCPP (Canada) with company matching
- Employee Stock Purchase Program (ESPP)
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
- company-paid holidays
- paid sick leave
- vacation time
- Paid Family Leave
- other leaves of absence
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
Education Level
No Education Listed
