diff --git a/__tests__/integration/dynalite.ts b/__tests__/integration/dynalite.ts
index bc63b17..5709c73 100644
--- a/__tests__/integration/dynalite.ts
+++ b/__tests__/integration/dynalite.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 import { createServer } from "node:net";
 import type { AddressInfo } from "node:net";
+import { DescribeTableCommand } from "@aws-sdk/client-dynamodb";
+import type { DynamoDBDocument } from "@aws-sdk/lib-dynamodb";
 import dynalite from "dynalite";
 
 export interface DynaliteOptions {
@@ -57,6 +59,22 @@ export async function startDynalite(options: DynaliteOptions = {}): Promise<Dyna
     };
 }
 
+export async function waitForTableActive(
+    doc: DynamoDBDocument,
+    tableName: string,
+    timeoutMs = 5000
+): Promise<void> {
+    const deadline = Date.now() + timeoutMs;
+    while (Date.now() < deadline) {
+        const result = await doc.send(new DescribeTableCommand({ TableName: tableName }));
+        if (result.Table?.TableStatus === "ACTIVE") {
+            return;
+        }
+        await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 50));
+    }
+    throw new Error(`Table ${tableName} did not become ACTIVE within ${timeoutMs}ms`);
+}
+
 async function pickFreePort(): Promise<number> {
     return new Promise<number>((resolve, reject) => {
         const probe = createServer();
diff --git a/__tests__/integration/pipeline.bulkAndRetry.test.ts b/__tests__/integration/pipeline.bulkAndRetry.test.ts
index 34b65a9..7353618 100644
--- a/__tests__/integration/pipeline.bulkAndRetry.test.ts
+++ b/__tests__/integration/pipeline.bulkAndRetry.test.ts
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import { DdbScanner } from "~/features/DdbScanner/index.js";
 import { DdbProcessor } from "~/features/DdbProcessor/index.js";
 import { TargetDynamoDbClient } from "~/services/DynamoDbClient/abstractions/DynamoDbClient.js";
 import type { BaseRecord } from "~/domain/transform/types/records.js";
-import { startDynalite, type DynaliteInstance } from "./dynalite.ts";
+import { startDynalite, waitForTableActive, type DynaliteInstance } from "./dynalite.ts";
 import { createDdbIntegrationContainer } from "./integrationContainer.ts";
 
 const FAKE_CREDS = { accessKeyId: "test", secretAccessKey: "test" };
@@ -154,6 +154,8 @@ describe("pipeline — bulk + retry against dynalite", () => {
         };
         await createDdbTable(doc, pair.source);
         await createDdbTable(doc, pair.target);
+        await waitForTableActive(doc, pair.source);
+        await waitForTableActive(doc, pair.target);
         return pair;
     }