diff --git a/.github/actions/e2e-setup/action.yml b/.github/actions/e2e-setup/action.yml
index c2d2c80c5b..b42b8b4236 100644
--- a/.github/actions/e2e-setup/action.yml
+++ b/.github/actions/e2e-setup/action.yml
@@ -42,6 +42,26 @@ runs:
       shell: bash
       run: npx nx run-many -t ci:build
 
+    # Cache the Chromium binary (~120MB) keyed on the resolved Playwright
+    # version, so it isn't re-downloaded every shard/run. Browser versions are
+    # pinned to the Playwright package version, so the version is the correct
+    # cache key. On a hit, `playwright install` finds the browser present and
+    # only installs OS deps.
+    - name: Resolve Playwright version
+      id: playwright-version
+      shell: bash
+      run:
+        echo "version=$(cd packages/app && node -p
+        "require('@playwright/test/package.json').version")" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+
+    - name: Cache Playwright browsers
+      uses: actions/cache@v4
+      with:
+        path: ~/.cache/ms-playwright
+        key:
+          ${{ runner.os }}-playwright-${{
+          steps.playwright-version.outputs.version }}
+
     - name: Install Playwright browsers
       shell: bash
       run: cd packages/app && npx playwright install --with-deps chromium
diff --git a/.github/workflows/e2e-tests.yml b/.github/workflows/e2e-tests.yml
index 9cd34cb1fd..54a835e157 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/e2e-tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/e2e-tests.yml
@@ -5,7 +5,10 @@ on:
 jobs:
   e2e-tests:
     name: E2E Tests - Shard ${{ matrix.shard }}
-    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+    # 8-core runner so the 4 Playwright workers (see playwright.config.ts) have
+    # CPU headroom alongside the app + ClickHouse + MongoDB — 4 workers
+    # over-subscribed the 4-vCPU ubuntu-24.04 runner and caused timeouts.
+    runs-on: 8-core-playwright
     timeout-minutes: 15
     permissions:
       contents: read
diff --git a/packages/app/playwright.config.ts b/packages/app/playwright.config.ts
index d03d278af9..5c571d578b 100644
--- a/packages/app/playwright.config.ts
+++ b/packages/app/playwright.config.ts
@@ -32,8 +32,16 @@ export default defineConfig({
   forbidOnly: !!process.env.CI,
   /* Retry on CI only */
   retries: process.env.CI ? 2 : 1,
-  /* Use multiple workers on CI for faster execution */
-  workers: process.env.CI ? 2 : undefined,
+  /* Use multiple workers on CI for faster execution. CI e2e shards run on
+   * 8-core runners (see .github/workflows/e2e-tests.yml), so 4 workers leave
+   * headroom for the app + ClickHouse + Mongo. Override with E2E_WORKERS
+   * (a positive integer); anything else falls back to the default. */
+  workers: (() => {
+    const raw = process.env.E2E_WORKERS;
+    const parsed = raw ? Number(raw) : NaN;
+    if (Number.isInteger(parsed) && parsed >= 1) return parsed;
+    return process.env.CI ? 4 : undefined;
+  })(),
   /* Reporter to use. See https://playwright.dev/docs/test-reporters */
   reporter: [
     ['html'],