diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index b5e0804a..3046df29 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -61,19 +61,36 @@ RUN apt-get update -qq && \
     apt-get install --no-install-recommends -y curl libpq-dev libvips libjemalloc2 libyaml-dev && \
     apt-get clean && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
-# Create app directory.
-RUN mkdir -p "${APP_HOME}"
+# Setup rootless user for security
+ARG USERNAME=rails
+ARG USER_UID=1000
+ARG USER_GID=1000
+
+RUN groupadd --gid $USER_GID $USERNAME && \
+    useradd --uid $USER_UID --gid $USER_GID -m $USERNAME
+
+# Create app directory with proper ownership
+RUN mkdir -p "${APP_HOME}" && \
+    chown -R $USERNAME:$USERNAME $APP_HOME && \
+    chmod -R 700 $APP_HOME
+
+# Switch to non-root user
+USER $USERNAME
 
 # Setup work directory.
 WORKDIR $APP_HOME
 
-# Copy everything from the builder image
-COPY --link . .
-COPY --from=builder $APP_HOME/public/ $APP_HOME/public/
-COPY --from=builder $APP_HOME/tmp/ $APP_HOME/tmp/
-COPY --from=builder $APP_HOME/vendor/ $APP_HOME/vendor/
+# Copy everything from the builder image with proper ownership
+COPY --link --chown=$USERNAME:$USERNAME --chmod=700 . .
+COPY --from=builder --chown=$USERNAME:$USERNAME --chmod=700 $APP_HOME/public/ $APP_HOME/public/
+COPY --from=builder --chown=$USERNAME:$USERNAME --chmod=700 $APP_HOME/tmp/ $APP_HOME/tmp/
+COPY --from=builder --chown=$USERNAME:$USERNAME --chmod=700 $APP_HOME/vendor/ $APP_HOME/vendor/
 
+# Temporarily switch to root to create system-level symlink for jemalloc
+# This is required because symlink creation in /usr/lib requires root privileges
+USER root
 RUN ln -s /usr/lib/*-linux-gnu/libjemalloc.so.2 /usr/lib/libjemalloc.so.2
+USER $USERNAME
 
 # Deployment options
 ENV RAILS_LOG_TO_STDOUT=true
diff --git a/Dockerfile.dev b/Dockerfile.dev
index 30916f82..c5ca41ae 100644
--- a/Dockerfile.dev
+++ b/Dockerfile.dev
@@ -20,8 +20,21 @@ ENV WORK_ROOT=/src
 ENV APP_HOME=$WORK_ROOT/app/
 ENV LANG=C.UTF-8
 
-# Create app directory.
-RUN mkdir -p $APP_HOME
+# Setup rootless user for security
+ARG USERNAME=rails
+ARG USER_UID=1000
+ARG USER_GID=1000
+
+RUN groupadd --gid $USER_GID $USERNAME && \
+    useradd --uid $USER_UID --gid $USER_GID -m $USERNAME
+
+# Create app directory with proper ownership
+RUN mkdir -p $APP_HOME && \
+    chown -R $USERNAME:$USERNAME $APP_HOME && \
+    chmod -R 700 $APP_HOME
+
+# Switch to non-root user
+USER $USERNAME
 
 # Setup work directory.
 WORKDIR $APP_HOME
@@ -29,15 +42,15 @@ WORKDIR $APP_HOME
 RUN gem install foreman bundler
 
 # Copy dependencies files and install libraries.
-COPY --link package.json yarn.lock .yarnrc.yml ./
+COPY --link --chown=$USERNAME:$USERNAME --chmod=700 package.json yarn.lock .yarnrc.yml ./
 
 RUN corepack enable
 RUN yarn install --immutable && yarn cache clean
 
-COPY --link Gemfile Gemfile.lock .ruby-version ./
+COPY --link --chown=$USERNAME:$USERNAME --chmod=700 Gemfile Gemfile.lock .ruby-version ./
 RUN bundle install -j 4
 
-COPY --link . .
+COPY --link --chown=$USERNAME:$USERNAME --chmod=700 . .
 
 RUN yarn build