diff --git a/controller/breeder_service.py b/controller/breeder_service.py
index b188ba8..030363d 100644
--- a/controller/breeder_service.py
+++ b/controller/breeder_service.py
@@ -251,17 +251,75 @@ def create_breeder(self, breeder_config, name):
             # Create breeder state table for shutdown signaling in the archive DB
             self.archive_repo.create_breeder_state_table(breeder_id)
 
+            # Wait for the breeder_state table to be fully committed and accessible
+            # This prevents YugabyteDB serialization conflicts when Optuna starts its DDL operations
+            from f.controller.database import get_db_connection
+            max_wait = 10  # seconds
+            check_interval = 0.5  # seconds
+            import time
+            table_ready = False
+
+            for attempt in range(int(max_wait / check_interval)):
+                try:
+                    # Try to query the table - if it succeeds, the transaction is fully committed
+                    db_config = self.archive_repo.base_config.copy()
+                    db_config['database'] = breeder_id
+                    with get_db_connection(db_config) as conn:
+                        with conn.cursor() as cursor:
+                            cursor.execute("SELECT COUNT(*) FROM breeder_state;")
+                            count = cursor.fetchone()[0]
+                            table_ready = True
+                            logger.info(f"Breeder state table is ready for {breeder_uuid}")
+                            break
+                except Exception as e:
+                    if attempt < (max_wait / check_interval) - 1:
+                        logger.debug(f"Waiting for breeder_state table to be ready... (attempt {attempt + 1})")
+                        time.sleep(check_interval)
+                    else:
+                        logger.error(f"Breeder state table still not ready after {max_wait}s: {e}")
+                        raise
+
+            if not table_ready:
+                raise Exception(f"Breeder state table did not become ready within {max_wait}s")
+
             # Initialize Optuna schema to prevent race conditions during worker startup
             # Multiple workers starting simultaneously would otherwise conflict trying to create tables
-            try:
-                db_url = self.archive_repo.get_connection_url(breeder_id)
-                storage = optuna.storages.RDBStorage(url=db_url)
-                logger.info(f"Initialized Optuna schema for breeder {breeder_uuid}")
-            except Exception as e:
-                logger.error(f"Failed to initialize Optuna schema for breeder {breeder_uuid}: {e}")
-                # Clean up database if schema initialization fails
-                self.archive_repo.drop_database(breeder_id)
-                raise
+            # Retry logic for YugabyteDB serialization failures and timeouts
+            max_retries = 5
+            storage = None
+            last_error = None
+
+            for attempt in range(max_retries):
+                try:
+                    db_url = self.archive_repo.get_connection_url(breeder_id)
+                    storage = optuna.storages.RDBStorage(url=db_url)
+                    logger.info(f"Initialized Optuna schema for breeder {breeder_uuid}")
+                    break
+                except Exception as e:
+                    last_error = e
+                    error_str = str(e)
+                    # Check for YugabyteDB-specific errors that should be retried
+                    is_retryable = (
+                        'SerializationFailure' in error_str or
+                        '40001' in error_str or
+                        'Transaction aborted' in error_str or
+                        'Timed out waiting' in error_str or
+                        'InternalError_' in error_str
+                    )
+
+                    if attempt < max_retries - 1 and is_retryable:
+                        wait_time = 2 ** attempt  # Exponential backoff: 2s, 4s, 8s, 16s
+                        logger.warning(f"Optuna schema initialization attempt {attempt + 1}/{max_retries} failed for breeder {breeder_uuid}: {e}")
+                        logger.info(f"Retrying in {wait_time} seconds...")
+                        time.sleep(wait_time)
+                    else:
+                        logger.error(f"Failed to initialize Optuna schema for breeder {breeder_uuid} after {max_retries} attempts: {e}")
+                        # Clean up database if schema initialization fails
+                        try:
+                            self.archive_repo.drop_database(breeder_id)
+                        except Exception as drop_error:
+                            logger.error(f"Failed to cleanup database after Optuna init failure: {drop_error}")
+                        raise
 
             self.metadata_repo.create_table()
             self.metadata_repo.insert_breeder_meta(