diff --git a/crates/orchestrator/src/hypervisor.rs b/crates/orchestrator/src/hypervisor.rs
index 426900c..cc6149b 100644
--- a/crates/orchestrator/src/hypervisor.rs
+++ b/crates/orchestrator/src/hypervisor.rs
@@ -138,6 +138,19 @@ impl Hypervisor for RouterHypervisor {
             _ => self.noop.destroy(vm).await,
         }
     }
+    async fn state(&self, vm: &VmHandle) -> Result<VmState> {
+        match vm.backend {
+            #[cfg(all(target_os = "linux", feature = "libvirt"))]
+            BackendTag::Libvirt => {
+                if let Some(ref hv) = self.libvirt { hv.state(vm).await } else { Ok(VmState::Prepared) }
+            }
+            #[cfg(target_os = "illumos")]
+            BackendTag::Zones => {
+                if let Some(ref hv) = self.zones { hv.state(vm).await } else { Ok(VmState::Prepared) }
+            }
+            _ => Ok(VmState::Prepared),
+        }
+    }
 }
 
 /// No-op hypervisor for development on hosts without privileges.
@@ -299,7 +312,7 @@ impl Hypervisor for LibvirtHypervisor {
             let seed_str = seed_iso.as_ref().map(|p| p.display().to_string());
             let net = self.network.clone();
             let cdrom = seed_str.map(|p| format!("<disk type='file' device='cdrom'>\n  <driver name='qemu' type='raw'/>\n  <source file='{}'/>\n  <target dev='hdb' bus='ide'/>\n  <readonly/>\n</disk>", p)).unwrap_or_default();
-            format!("<domain type='kvm'>\n<name>{}</name>\n<memory unit='MiB'>{}</memory>\n<vcpu>{}</vcpu>\n<os>\n  <type arch='x86_64' machine='pc'>hvm</type>\n  <boot dev='hd'/>\n</os>\n<features><acpi/></features>\n<devices>\n  <disk type='file' device='disk'>\n    <driver name='qemu' type='qcow2' cache='none'/>\n    <source file='{}'/>\n    <target dev='vda' bus='virtio'/>\n  </disk>\n  {}\n  <interface type='network'>\n    <source network='{}'/>\n    <model type='virtio'/>\n  </interface>\n  <graphics type='vnc' autoport='yes' listen='127.0.0.1'/>\n  <console type='pty'/>\n</devices>\n<on_poweroff>destroy</on_poweroff>\n<on_crash>destroy</on_crash>\n</domain>",
+            format!("<domain type='kvm'>\n<name>{}</name>\n<memory unit='MiB'>{}</memory>\n<vcpu>{}</vcpu>\n<os>\n  <type arch='x86_64' machine='pc'>hvm</type>\n  <boot dev='hd'/>\n</os>\n<features><acpi/></features>\n<devices>\n  <disk type='file' device='disk'>\n    <driver name='qemu' type='qcow2' cache='none'/>\n    <source file='{}'/>\n    <target dev='vda' bus='virtio'/>\n  </disk>\n  {}\n  <interface type='network'>\n    <source network='{}'/>\n    <model type='virtio'/>\n  </interface>\n  <graphics type='vnc' autoport='yes' listen='127.0.0.1'/>\n  <serial type='pty'>\n    <target port='0'/>\n  </serial>\n  <console type='pty'>\n    <target type='serial' port='0'/>\n  </console>\n</devices>\n<on_poweroff>destroy</on_poweroff>\n<on_crash>destroy</on_crash>\n</domain>",
                 id, mem, vcpus, overlay_str, cdrom, net)
         };
 
@@ -375,6 +388,19 @@ impl Hypervisor for LibvirtHypervisor {
         info!(domain = %id, "libvirt destroyed");
         Ok(())
     }
+
+    async fn state(&self, vm: &VmHandle) -> Result<VmState> {
+        let id = vm.id.clone();
+        let uri = self.uri.clone();
+        let active = tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || -> miette::Result<bool> {
+            use virt::{connect::Connect, domain::Domain};
+            let conn = Connect::open(Some(&uri)).map_err(|e| miette::miette!("libvirt connect failed: {e}"))?;
+            let dom = Domain::lookup_by_name(&conn, &id).map_err(|e| miette::miette!("lookup domain failed: {e}"))?;
+            let active = dom.is_active().unwrap_or(false);
+            Ok(active)
+        }).await.into_diagnostic()??;
+        Ok(if active { VmState::Running } else { VmState::Stopped })
+    }
 }
 
 #[cfg(target_os = "illumos")]
diff --git a/crates/orchestrator/src/main.rs b/crates/orchestrator/src/main.rs
index 2540a0c..1f0eba5 100644
--- a/crates/orchestrator/src/main.rs
+++ b/crates/orchestrator/src/main.rs
@@ -221,6 +221,11 @@ write_files:
     content: |
       repo_url: {repo}
       commit_sha: {sha}
+runcmd:
+  - [ sh, -c, "echo 'Solstice: preparing workspace for {sha}' | tee /dev/console" ]
+  - [ sh, -c, "mkdir -p /root/work && cd /root/work && if command -v git >/dev/null 2>&1; then git init && git remote add origin {repo} && git fetch --depth=1 origin {sha} && git checkout -q FETCH_HEAD || true; else echo 'git not installed'; fi" ]
+  - [ sh, -c, "if [ -f /root/work/.solstice/job.sh ]; then chmod +x /root/work/.solstice/job.sh && cd /root/work && /root/work/.solstice/job.sh || true; else echo 'No .solstice/job.sh found in repo'; fi" ]
+  - [ sh, -c, "echo 'Solstice: job complete, powering off' | tee /dev/console; (command -v poweroff >/dev/null 2>&1 && poweroff) || (command -v shutdown >/dev/null 2>&1 && shutdown -y -i5 -g0) || true" ]
 "#, repo = repo_url, sha = commit_sha);
     s.into_bytes()
 }
@@ -250,5 +255,7 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(s.contains("commit_sha: deadbeef"));
         assert!(s.contains("write_files:"));
         assert!(s.contains("/etc/solstice/job.yaml"));
+        assert!(s.contains("runcmd:"));
+        assert!(s.contains("powering off"));
     }
 }
diff --git a/crates/orchestrator/src/scheduler.rs b/crates/orchestrator/src/scheduler.rs
index ae4e0b2..7a14b2b 100644
--- a/crates/orchestrator/src/scheduler.rs
+++ b/crates/orchestrator/src/scheduler.rs
@@ -93,12 +93,23 @@ impl<H: Hypervisor + 'static> Scheduler<H> {
                                         }
                                         let _ = persist.record_vm_event(item.ctx.request_id, &h.id, overlay, seed, backend, VmPersistState::Running).await;
                                         let _ = persist.record_job_state(item.ctx.request_id, &item.ctx.repo_url, &item.ctx.commit_sha, Some(&item.spec.label), JobState::Running).await;
-                                        info!(request_id = %item.ctx.request_id, label = %label_key, "vm started (workload execution placeholder)");
-                                        // Placeholder job runtime (configurable), but end early on shutdown
-                                        tokio::select! {
-                                            _ = tokio::time::sleep(placeholder_runtime) => {},
-                                            _ = shutdown.notified() => {
-                                                info!(request_id = %item.ctx.request_id, label = %label_key, "shutdown: ending placeholder early");
+                                        info!(request_id = %item.ctx.request_id, label = %label_key, "vm started (monitoring for completion)");
+                                        // Monitor VM state until it stops or until placeholder_runtime elapses; end early on shutdown
+                                        let start_time = std::time::Instant::now();
+                                        loop {
+                                            // Check current state first
+                                            if let Ok(crate::hypervisor::VmState::Stopped) = hv.state(&h).await {
+                                                info!(request_id = %item.ctx.request_id, label = %label_key, "vm reported stopped");
+                                                break;
+                                            }
+                                            if start_time.elapsed() >= placeholder_runtime { break; }
+                                            // Wait either for shutdown signal or a short delay before next poll
+                                            tokio::select! {
+                                                _ = shutdown.notified() => {
+                                                    info!(request_id = %item.ctx.request_id, label = %label_key, "shutdown: ending early");
+                                                    break;
+                                                }
+                                                _ = tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_secs(2)) => {}
                                             }
                                         }
                                         // Stop and destroy