diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/ci-deploy.yml b/.gitea/workflows/ci-deploy.yml
index 98468d8..1e83db2 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/ci-deploy.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/ci-deploy.yml
@@ -39,7 +39,12 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           node -v
           npm -v
-          npm ci --no-audit --no-fund
+          # npm ci occasionally segfaults on the runner (SIGSEGV/139, a memory/native
+          # flake). Retry once with a clean node_modules before failing the job.
+          npm ci --no-audit --no-fund \
+            || ( echo "npm ci failed ($?) — cleaning node_modules and retrying once..." \
+                 && rm -rf node_modules \
+                 && npm ci --no-audit --no-fund )
 
       - name: Test frontend
         working-directory: job-tracker-ui