diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 0d09c15223..b034a371db 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -17,6 +17,9 @@ venv/
 .mypy_cache
 *.egg-info/
 
+# OS artifacts
+.DS_Store
+
 # BEGIN VALE WORKFLOW IGNORE
 .vale/styles/*
 !.vale/styles/local
diff --git a/.vale/styles/config/vocabularies/local/accept.txt b/.vale/styles/config/vocabularies/local/accept.txt
index 459d236f56..193ec40ec9 100644
--- a/.vale/styles/config/vocabularies/local/accept.txt
+++ b/.vale/styles/config/vocabularies/local/accept.txt
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ aproxy
 Aproxy
 GitHub App
 backoff
+cgroup
 denylist
 enqueued
 Gunicorn
@@ -15,6 +16,7 @@ plaintext
 proxied
 reactively
 rollout
+systemd
 Tmate
 unregisters
 untrusted
diff --git a/docs/changelog.md b/docs/changelog.md
index 3bbafde804..dd6187cd93 100644
--- a/docs/changelog.md
+++ b/docs/changelog.md
@@ -2,6 +2,10 @@
 
 This changelog documents user-relevant changes to the GitHub runner charm.
 
+## 2026-04-22
+
+- Removed `KillMode=process` from the runner manager systemd service, restoring the default `control-group` kill mode. This ensures all child processes in the service's cgroup are properly terminated when the service stops, preventing orphaned runner processes.
+
 ## 2026-04-17
 
 - Added `token-secret-id` and `openstack-clouds-yaml-secret-id` configuration options, allowing the GitHub token and OpenStack `clouds.yaml` to be supplied through Juju user secrets. When set, these take precedence over the plaintext `token` and `openstack-clouds-yaml` options, which remain supported as a compatibility fallback.
diff --git a/github-runner-manager/pyproject.toml b/github-runner-manager/pyproject.toml
index b45e993d92..3899e8b5c0 100644
--- a/github-runner-manager/pyproject.toml
+++ b/github-runner-manager/pyproject.toml
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 
 [project]
 name = "github-runner-manager"
-version = "0.18.0"
+version = "0.18.1"
 authors = [
     { name = "Canonical IS DevOps", email = "is-devops-team@canonical.com" },
 ]
diff --git a/src/manager_service.py b/src/manager_service.py
index d8c8160d72..3bb6e85e79 100644
--- a/src/manager_service.py
+++ b/src/manager_service.py
@@ -397,7 +397,6 @@ def _setup_service_file(unit_name: str, config_file: Path, log_file: Path, log_l
         RestartSec=30
         RestartSteps=5
         RestartMaxDelaySec=600
-        KillMode=process
         StandardOutput=append:{log_file}
         StandardError=append:{log_file}