diff --git a/internal/scheduler/service_templates.go b/internal/scheduler/service_templates.go
index 40b1e83..3647bb3 100644
--- a/internal/scheduler/service_templates.go
+++ b/internal/scheduler/service_templates.go
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ type ServiceMount struct {
 //   {{SECRET:xxx}}     - Secret value from scheduler's secret store
 
 // JupyterLabTemplate is the default JupyterLab service configuration.
-// Sysadmins can disable Jupyter by setting service_slots: 0 in worker config,
+// Users can disable Jupyter by setting service_slots: 0 in worker config,
 // or by not registering this template with the scheduler.
 var JupyterLabTemplate = ServiceTemplate{
 	JobType:  "service",
diff --git a/internal/worker/config.go b/internal/worker/config.go
index f42c905..ad9006f 100644
--- a/internal/worker/config.go
+++ b/internal/worker/config.go
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ type Config struct {
 	SSHKey        string                `yaml:"ssh_key"`
 	Port          int                   `yaml:"port"`
 	BasePath      string                `yaml:"base_path"`
-	TrainScript   string                `yaml:"train_script"`
+	Entrypoint    string                `yaml:"entrypoint"`
 	RedisURL      string                `yaml:"redis_url"`
 	RedisAddr     string                `yaml:"redis_addr"`
 	RedisPassword string                `yaml:"redis_password"`
@@ -107,11 +107,7 @@ type Config struct {
 	Mode string `yaml:"mode"`
 
 	// Scheduler configuration for distributed mode
-	Scheduler struct {
-		Address string `yaml:"address"`
-		Cert    string `yaml:"cert"`
-		Token   string `yaml:"token"`
-	} `yaml:"scheduler"`
+	Scheduler SchedulerConfig `yaml:"scheduler"`
 
 	// Plugins configuration
 	Plugins map[string]factory.PluginConfig `yaml:"plugins"`
@@ -140,7 +136,56 @@ type SnapshotStoreConfig struct {
 	MaxRetries   int           `yaml:"max_retries"`
 }
 
-// AppleGPUConfig holds configuration for Apple M-series GPU support
+// SchedulerConfig holds configurable heartbeat and lease settings for distributed mode.
+type SchedulerConfig struct {
+	Address               string `yaml:"address"`
+	Cert                  string `yaml:"cert"`
+	Token                 string `yaml:"token"`
+	HeartbeatIntervalSecs int    `yaml:"heartbeat_interval_secs"`  // default: 30
+	TaskLeaseDurationSecs int    `yaml:"task_lease_duration_secs"` // default: 90 (3x heartbeat)
+}
+
+// Validate checks that lease and heartbeat settings are valid.
+// Enforces 2-10x ratio between lease duration and heartbeat interval.
+func (sc *SchedulerConfig) Validate() error {
+	// Apply defaults if zero
+	if sc.HeartbeatIntervalSecs == 0 {
+		sc.HeartbeatIntervalSecs = 30
+	}
+	if sc.TaskLeaseDurationSecs == 0 {
+		sc.TaskLeaseDurationSecs = 90
+	}
+
+	heartbeat := time.Duration(sc.HeartbeatIntervalSecs) * time.Second
+	lease := time.Duration(sc.TaskLeaseDurationSecs) * time.Second
+
+	if lease <= heartbeat {
+		return fmt.Errorf(
+			"task_lease_duration_secs (%s) must be greater than heartbeat_interval_secs (%s)",
+			lease, heartbeat,
+		)
+	}
+
+	ratio := lease.Seconds() / heartbeat.Seconds()
+	if ratio < 2.0 {
+		return fmt.Errorf(
+			"task_lease_duration_secs must be at least 2× heartbeat_interval_secs "+
+				"(got %.1f×) — too small a margin for transient network issues",
+			ratio,
+		)
+	}
+
+	if ratio > 10.0 {
+		return fmt.Errorf(
+			"task_lease_duration_secs is %.1f× heartbeat_interval_secs — "+
+				"dead workers won't be detected for %s, consider reducing lease duration",
+			ratio, lease,
+		)
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
+
 type AppleGPUConfig struct {
 	Enabled     bool   `yaml:"enabled"`
 	MetalDevice string `yaml:"metal_device"`
diff --git a/internal/worker/executor/container.go b/internal/worker/executor/container.go
index 433e0ea..ac79f4e 100644
--- a/internal/worker/executor/container.go
+++ b/internal/worker/executor/container.go
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ type ContainerConfig struct {
 	PodmanImage        string
 	ContainerResults   string
 	ContainerWorkspace string
-	TrainScript        string
+	Entrypoint         string
 	BasePath           string
 	AppleGPUEnabled    bool
 }
@@ -298,7 +298,7 @@ func (e *ContainerExecutor) runPodman(
 	podmanCfg container.PodmanConfig,
 	selectedImage string,
 ) error {
-	scriptPath := filepath.Join(podmanCfg.ContainerWorkspace, e.config.TrainScript)
+	scriptPath := filepath.Join(podmanCfg.ContainerWorkspace, e.config.Entrypoint)
 
 	manifestName, err := SelectDependencyManifest(filepath.Join(env.OutputDir, "code"))
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/internal/worker/lifecycle/runloop.go b/internal/worker/lifecycle/runloop.go
index c9e0546..1133a9c 100644
--- a/internal/worker/lifecycle/runloop.go
+++ b/internal/worker/lifecycle/runloop.go
@@ -205,7 +205,7 @@ func (r *RunLoop) executeTask(task *queue.Task) {
 		}
 	}
 
-	taskCtx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(r.ctx, 24*time.Hour)
+	taskCtx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(r.ctx, task.RemainingTime)
 	defer cancel()
 
 	if err := r.executor.Execute(taskCtx, task); err != nil {
diff --git a/internal/worker/worker.go b/internal/worker/worker.go
index 382b62b..0a8c820 100644
--- a/internal/worker/worker.go
+++ b/internal/worker/worker.go
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
 	"log/slog"
+	"math/rand"
 	"net/http"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
@@ -65,7 +66,17 @@ func (w *Worker) Start() {
 
 // heartbeatLoop sends periodic heartbeats with slot status to scheduler
 func (w *Worker) heartbeatLoop() {
-	ticker := time.NewTicker(10 * time.Second)
+	// Use configured interval or default to 10s
+	intervalSecs := w.Config.Scheduler.HeartbeatIntervalSecs
+	if intervalSecs == 0 {
+		intervalSecs = 10
+	}
+
+	// Add jitter (0-5s) to prevent thundering herd
+	jitter := time.Duration(rand.Intn(5)) * time.Second
+	interval := time.Duration(intervalSecs)*time.Second + jitter
+
+	ticker := time.NewTicker(interval)
 	defer ticker.Stop()
 
 	for {
diff --git a/scheduler b/scheduler
deleted file mode 100755
index e866776..0000000
Binary files a/scheduler and /dev/null differ