diff --git a/backend/src/tasks/task-worker.ts b/backend/src/tasks/task-worker.ts
index 03b4d79c..39604d45 100644
--- a/backend/src/tasks/task-worker.ts
+++ b/backend/src/tasks/task-worker.ts
@@ -116,23 +116,41 @@ export class TaskWorker {
    * Initialize stealth systems (proxy rotation, fingerprints)
    * Called once on worker startup before processing any tasks.
    *
-   * IMPORTANT: Proxies are REQUIRED. Workers will fail to start if no proxies available.
+   * IMPORTANT: Proxies are REQUIRED. Workers will wait until proxies are available.
    */
   private async initializeStealth(): Promise<void> {
-    // Load proxies from database
-    await this.crawlRotator.initialize();
+    const MAX_WAIT_MINUTES = 60;
+    const RETRY_INTERVAL_MS = 30000; // 30 seconds
+    const maxAttempts = (MAX_WAIT_MINUTES * 60 * 1000) / RETRY_INTERVAL_MS;
+    let attempts = 0;
 
-    const stats = this.crawlRotator.proxy.getStats();
-    if (stats.activeProxies === 0) {
-      throw new Error('No active proxies available. Workers MUST use proxies for all requests. Add proxies to the database before starting workers.');
+    while (attempts < maxAttempts) {
+      try {
+        // Load proxies from database
+        await this.crawlRotator.initialize();
+
+        const stats = this.crawlRotator.proxy.getStats();
+        if (stats.activeProxies > 0) {
+          console.log(`[TaskWorker] Loaded ${stats.activeProxies} proxies (${stats.avgSuccessRate.toFixed(1)}% avg success rate)`);
+
+          // Wire rotator to Dutchie client - proxies will be used for ALL requests
+          setCrawlRotator(this.crawlRotator);
+
+          console.log(`[TaskWorker] Stealth initialized: ${this.crawlRotator.userAgent.getCount()} fingerprints, proxy REQUIRED for all requests`);
+          return;
+        }
+
+        attempts++;
+        console.log(`[TaskWorker] No active proxies available (attempt ${attempts}). Waiting ${RETRY_INTERVAL_MS / 1000}s for proxies to be added...`);
+        await this.sleep(RETRY_INTERVAL_MS);
+      } catch (error: any) {
+        attempts++;
+        console.log(`[TaskWorker] Error loading proxies (attempt ${attempts}): ${error.message}. Retrying in ${RETRY_INTERVAL_MS / 1000}s...`);
+        await this.sleep(RETRY_INTERVAL_MS);
+      }
     }
 
-    console.log(`[TaskWorker] Loaded ${stats.activeProxies} proxies (${stats.avgSuccessRate.toFixed(1)}% avg success rate)`);
-
-    // Wire rotator to Dutchie client - proxies will be used for ALL requests
-    setCrawlRotator(this.crawlRotator);
-
-    console.log(`[TaskWorker] Stealth initialized: ${this.crawlRotator.userAgent.getCount()} fingerprints, proxy REQUIRED for all requests`);
+    throw new Error(`No active proxies available after waiting ${MAX_WAIT_MINUTES} minutes. Add proxies to the database.`);
   }
 
   /**
diff --git a/k8s/scraper-worker.yaml b/k8s/scraper-worker.yaml
index ea47e77d..ddff6f34 100644
--- a/k8s/scraper-worker.yaml
+++ b/k8s/scraper-worker.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,67 @@
-# Task Worker Pods
+# Task Worker Deployment
+#
+# Simple Deployment that runs task-worker.js to process tasks from worker_tasks queue.
+# Workers pull tasks using DB-level locking (FOR UPDATE SKIP LOCKED).
+#
+# The worker will wait up to 60 minutes for active proxies to be added before failing.
+# This allows deployment to succeed even if proxies aren't configured yet.
+---
+apiVersion: apps/v1
+kind: Deployment
+metadata:
+  name: scraper-worker
+  namespace: dispensary-scraper
+spec:
+  replicas: 5
+  selector:
+    matchLabels:
+      app: scraper-worker
+  template:
+    metadata:
+      labels:
+        app: scraper-worker
+    spec:
+      imagePullSecrets:
+        - name: regcred
+      containers:
+        - name: worker
+          image: code.cannabrands.app/creationshop/dispensary-scraper:latest
+          command: ["node"]
+          args: ["dist/tasks/task-worker.js"]
+          envFrom:
+            - configMapRef:
+                name: scraper-config
+            - secretRef:
+                name: scraper-secrets
+          env:
+            - name: WORKER_MODE
+              value: "true"
+            - name: POD_NAME
+              valueFrom:
+                fieldRef:
+                  fieldPath: metadata.name
+          resources:
+            requests:
+              memory: "256Mi"
+              cpu: "100m"
+            limits:
+              memory: "512Mi"
+              cpu: "500m"
+          livenessProbe:
+            exec:
+              command:
+                - /bin/sh
+                - -c
+                - "pgrep -f 'task-worker' > /dev/null"
+            initialDelaySeconds: 60
+            periodSeconds: 30
+            failureThreshold: 3
+      terminationGracePeriodSeconds: 60
+---
+# =============================================================================
+# ALTERNATIVE: StatefulSet with multiple workers per pod (not currently used)
+# =============================================================================
+# Task Worker Pods (StatefulSet)
 # Each pod runs 5 role-agnostic workers that pull tasks from worker_tasks queue.
 #
 # Architecture: