diff --git a/src/commands/autopilot.ts b/src/commands/autopilot.ts
index 11d1e1be..25190bbe 100644
--- a/src/commands/autopilot.ts
+++ b/src/commands/autopilot.ts
@@ -54,6 +54,31 @@ function logError(phase: string, e: unknown) {
  *   3. `which gbrain` for installs where the binary is on $PATH.
  *   4. Throw — nothing on $PATH, no way to supervise the worker.
  */
+/**
+ * Resolve after `ms`, or reject with an AbortError as soon as `signal` aborts.
+ *
+ * Used for the between-cycle sleep in the autopilot loop so that SIGTERM/SIGINT
+ * can interrupt a long (up to 600s adaptive) wait and let graceful shutdown
+ * complete within systemd's TimeoutStopSec window instead of being SIGKILLed
+ * with a stale lockfile left behind.
+ *
+ * Exported for unit testing; behavior mirrors Node's `setTimeout`-with-AbortSignal
+ * semantics but avoids pulling in `timers/promises` for cross-runtime use.
+ */
+export function sleepCancelable(ms: number, signal: AbortSignal): Promise<void> {
+  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+    if (signal.aborted) {
+      reject(new DOMException('aborted', 'AbortError'));
+      return;
+    }
+    const timer = setTimeout(resolve, ms);
+    signal.addEventListener('abort', () => {
+      clearTimeout(timer);
+      reject(new DOMException('aborted', 'AbortError'));
+    }, { once: true });
+  });
+}
+
 export function resolveGbrainCliPath(): string {
   const arg1 = process.argv[1] ?? '';
   if (arg1.endsWith('/gbrain') || arg1.endsWith('/cli.ts') || arg1.endsWith('\\gbrain.exe')) {
@@ -129,6 +154,15 @@ export async function runAutopilot(engine: BrainEngine, args: string[]) {
   let workerProc: ChildProcess | null = null;
   let crashCount = 0;
 
+  // Cancelable between-cycle sleep. Without this, SIGTERM/SIGINT sets
+  // `stopping = true` but the loop only re-evaluates after the current
+  // `setTimeout` resolves — up to `interval` seconds (600s worst case after
+  // adaptive scaling). Under systemd's default TimeoutStopSec=90 that means
+  // SIGKILL beats the drain path, the lockfile leaks, and the next
+  // invocation has to wait out the 10-minute staleness check or be cleaned
+  // up by hand. Abort the timer on shutdown so the loop exits immediately.
+  const cycleAbort = new AbortController();
+
   if (useMinionsDispatch) {
     const cliPath = resolveGbrainCliPath();
     const startWorker = () => {
@@ -164,6 +198,9 @@ export async function runAutopilot(engine: BrainEngine, args: string[]) {
   const shutdown = async (sig: string) => {
     if (stopping) return;
     stopping = true;
+    // Abort the in-flight cycle sleep so the main loop exits immediately
+    // instead of running out the remainder of the current interval.
+    cycleAbort.abort();
     console.log(`Autopilot stopping (${sig}).`);
     if (workerProc) {
       try { workerProc.kill('SIGTERM'); } catch { /* already dead */ }
@@ -280,8 +317,14 @@ export async function runAutopilot(engine: BrainEngine, args: string[]) {
       }
     }
 
-    // Wait for next cycle
-    await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, interval * 1000));
+    // Wait for next cycle (cancelable on SIGTERM/SIGINT)
+    try {
+      await sleepCancelable(interval * 1000, cycleAbort.signal);
+    } catch (e) {
+      // Only swallow the abort path; let unexpected rejections surface.
+      if (!(e instanceof DOMException) || e.name !== 'AbortError') throw e;
+      // Loop will exit via the `while (!stopping)` check on next iteration.
+    }
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/test/autopilot-sleep-cancelable.test.ts b/test/autopilot-sleep-cancelable.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2ddd41cc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/autopilot-sleep-cancelable.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+import { describe, test, expect } from 'bun:test';
+import { sleepCancelable } from '../src/commands/autopilot.ts';
+
+describe('sleepCancelable', () => {
+  test('resolves after the given delay when never aborted', async () => {
+    const start = Date.now();
+    await sleepCancelable(40, new AbortController().signal);
+    const elapsed = Date.now() - start;
+    // Allow generous slack for CI timer jitter — we only care that it waited
+    // at least ~40ms and didn't resolve immediately.
+    expect(elapsed).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(30);
+  });
+
+  test('rejects immediately with AbortError when the signal is already aborted', async () => {
+    const ctl = new AbortController();
+    ctl.abort();
+    const start = Date.now();
+    let caught: unknown;
+    try {
+      await sleepCancelable(10_000, ctl.signal);
+    } catch (e) {
+      caught = e;
+    }
+    const elapsed = Date.now() - start;
+    expect(caught).toBeInstanceOf(DOMException);
+    expect((caught as DOMException).name).toBe('AbortError');
+    // Rejection must be effectively synchronous — the 10s timer is never armed.
+    expect(elapsed).toBeLessThan(50);
+  });
+
+  test('rejects with AbortError mid-sleep when the signal aborts', async () => {
+    const ctl = new AbortController();
+    // Abort well before the 10s timer would fire. If sleepCancelable were
+    // not cancelable, this test would hang for ~10s and bun:test would kill it.
+    setTimeout(() => ctl.abort(), 20);
+    const start = Date.now();
+    let caught: unknown;
+    try {
+      await sleepCancelable(10_000, ctl.signal);
+    } catch (e) {
+      caught = e;
+    }
+    const elapsed = Date.now() - start;
+    expect(caught).toBeInstanceOf(DOMException);
+    expect((caught as DOMException).name).toBe('AbortError');
+    expect(elapsed).toBeLessThan(200);
+  });
+});