diff --git a/src/scheduler.py b/src/scheduler.py
index a6d1eddf9..17686ba36 100755
--- a/src/scheduler.py
+++ b/src/scheduler.py
@@ -827,6 +827,10 @@ def _run_job(
                     node["artifacts"]["job_definition"] = artifact_url
                 else:
                     node["artifacts"] = {"job_definition": artifact_url}
+            # pull_labs workers poll for jobs in "available" state; the
+            # API model defaults new nodes to "running", so flip it here.
+            if runtime.config.lab_type == "pull_labs":
+                node["state"] = "available"
 
         if platform.name == "kubernetes":
             context = runtime.get_context()