Debian Developer

Role Overview

We are seeking an active Debian Maintainer (DM) or Debian Developer (DD) to lead the packaging, maintenance, and upstream/downstream integration of mission-critical software across our Linux-based infrastructure.

You will own the end-to-end Debian packaging lifecycle—authoring Debian packaging sources, managing repository uploads, troubleshooting complex dependency graphs, and ensuring seamless compliance with Debian Policy standards.

Key Responsibilities

• Package Management & Maintenance: Build, maintain, and update official and custom Debian packages (.deb) adhering strictly to Debian Policy Manual standards.
• Archive & Repository Operations: Manage package uploads directly to the Debian archive / internal package mirrors; configure and maintain repository tooling (e.g., apt, reprepro, debpool, pbuilder/sbuild).
• Upstream & Downstream Integration: Triage bug reports, patch security vulnerabilities (CVEs), backport fixes, and coordinate upstream/downstream changes with the broader Debian community.
• Build Automation & CI/CD: Design and automate reproducible build pipelines for Debian packages using modern CI/CD tooling.
• System Architecture & Dependency Resolution: Debug and resolve low-level packaging, shared library (soname), kernel, and toolchain dependency issues.

Required Qualifications

• Mandatory Credential: Verified status as an official Debian Developer (DD) or Debian Maintainer (DM) with active GPG key in the Debian keyring.
• Debian Tooling Mastery: Deep expertise with dpkg, apt, debhelper, dh-make, quilt, git-buildpackage (gbp), debbootstrap, and lintian.
• System Programming & Scripting: Strong proficiency in C/C++, Shell scripting (Bash/POSIX), and Python (or Perl) within a POSIX environment.
• Policy & Governance: Thorough understanding of Debian Policy, Free Software Guidelines (DFSG), licensing, and release management workflows.
• Debugging & Systems Troubleshooting: Hands-on experience debugging build failures, runtime linkage issues, and system-level bugs using gdb, strace, and compiler toolchains.