diff --git a/deploy/install_prefill_worker_launchd.sh b/deploy/install_prefill_worker_launchd.sh
index 7a7b4c38..f0bf1bcd 100755
--- a/deploy/install_prefill_worker_launchd.sh
+++ b/deploy/install_prefill_worker_launchd.sh
@@ -88,7 +88,24 @@ cat > "$PLIST" <<EOF
 EOF
 
 chmod 644 "$PLIST"
-launchctl bootout "gui/$(id -u)/$LABEL" 2>/dev/null || true
-launchctl bootstrap "gui/$(id -u)" "$PLIST"
+DOMAIN="gui/$(id -u)"
+launchctl bootout "$DOMAIN/$LABEL" 2>/dev/null || true
+for _ in {1..20}; do
+  if ! launchctl print "$DOMAIN/$LABEL" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    break
+  fi
+  sleep 0.25
+done
+for attempt in 1 2 3; do
+  if launchctl bootstrap "$DOMAIN" "$PLIST"; then
+    break
+  fi
+  if [[ "$attempt" -eq 3 ]]; then
+    echo "failed to bootstrap $LABEL after $attempt attempts" >&2
+    exit 1
+  fi
+  sleep 2
+done
+launchctl kickstart -k "$DOMAIN/$LABEL"
 echo "installed $LABEL -> $PLIST"
 
diff --git a/tests/inference_engine/bridge/test_prefill_worker_launchd.py b/tests/inference_engine/bridge/test_prefill_worker_launchd.py
index e31390ad..542f54fa 100644
--- a/tests/inference_engine/bridge/test_prefill_worker_launchd.py
+++ b/tests/inference_engine/bridge/test_prefill_worker_launchd.py
@@ -23,6 +23,9 @@ def test_worker_installer_emits_full_cache_compatibility_contract():
     assert 'PEER="${KAKEYA_WORKER_PEER:-}"' in source
     assert "<string>--peer</string>" in source
     assert 'chmod 644 "$PLIST"' in source
+    assert 'launchctl print "$DOMAIN/$LABEL"' in source
+    assert "for attempt in 1 2 3" in source
+    assert 'launchctl kickstart -k "$DOMAIN/$LABEL"' in source
 
 
 def test_head_runtime_discovers_and_uses_worker_cache_port():