diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 9b319a40..a5f2cbdb 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Fixed
+
+- Add a 10-second timeout around `StandardPilot.JobGetAvailable` so a stalled standard-pilot fetch no longer hangs a producer indefinitely. [PR #1255](https://github.com/riverqueue/river/pull/1255)
+
 ## [0.38.0] - 2026-05-22
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/rivershared/riverpilot/standard_pilot.go b/rivershared/riverpilot/standard_pilot.go
index 22598eb9..45e2ff2b 100644
--- a/rivershared/riverpilot/standard_pilot.go
+++ b/rivershared/riverpilot/standard_pilot.go
@@ -3,12 +3,15 @@ package riverpilot
 import (
 	"context"
 	"sync/atomic"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/riverqueue/river/riverdriver"
 	"github.com/riverqueue/river/rivershared/baseservice"
 	"github.com/riverqueue/river/rivertype"
 )
 
+const standardPilotJobGetAvailableTimeoutDefault = 10 * time.Second
+
 type StandardPilot struct {
 	seq atomic.Int64
 }
@@ -19,6 +22,10 @@ func (p *StandardPilot) JobGetAvailable(ctx context.Context, exec riverdriver.Ex
 	if params.MaxToLock <= 0 {
 		return nil, nil
 	}
+
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeoutCause(ctx, standardPilotJobGetAvailableTimeoutDefault, context.DeadlineExceeded)
+	defer cancel()
+
 	return exec.JobGetAvailable(ctx, params)
 }
 
diff --git a/rivershared/riverpilot/standard_pilot_test.go b/rivershared/riverpilot/standard_pilot_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ae7d4254
--- /dev/null
+++ b/rivershared/riverpilot/standard_pilot_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+package riverpilot
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"errors"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+
+	"github.com/riverqueue/river/riverdriver"
+	"github.com/riverqueue/river/rivertype"
+)
+
+type standardPilotExecutorMock struct {
+	riverdriver.Executor
+
+	jobGetAvailableFunc func(ctx context.Context, params *riverdriver.JobGetAvailableParams) ([]*rivertype.JobRow, error)
+}
+
+func (m *standardPilotExecutorMock) JobGetAvailable(ctx context.Context, params *riverdriver.JobGetAvailableParams) ([]*rivertype.JobRow, error) {
+	return m.jobGetAvailableFunc(ctx, params)
+}
+
+func TestStandardPilot_JobGetAvailable(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	type testBundle struct {
+		exec  *standardPilotExecutorMock
+		pilot *StandardPilot
+	}
+
+	setup := func(t *testing.T) *testBundle {
+		t.Helper()
+
+		return &testBundle{
+			exec:  &standardPilotExecutorMock{},
+			pilot: &StandardPilot{},
+		}
+	}
+
+	t.Run("ReturnsNilWhenMaxToLockIsZero", func(t *testing.T) {
+		t.Parallel()
+
+		bundle := setup(t)
+
+		res, err := bundle.pilot.JobGetAvailable(context.Background(), bundle.exec, nil, &riverdriver.JobGetAvailableParams{})
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		require.Nil(t, res)
+	})
+
+	t.Run("PreservesParentCancellation", func(t *testing.T) {
+		t.Parallel()
+
+		bundle := setup(t)
+		parentErr := errors.New("parent cancelled")
+		parentCtx, cancel := context.WithCancelCause(context.Background())
+		cancel(parentErr)
+
+		bundle.exec.jobGetAvailableFunc = func(ctx context.Context, params *riverdriver.JobGetAvailableParams) ([]*rivertype.JobRow, error) {
+			<-ctx.Done()
+			return nil, context.Cause(ctx)
+		}
+
+		_, err := bundle.pilot.JobGetAvailable(parentCtx, bundle.exec, nil, &riverdriver.JobGetAvailableParams{
+			MaxToLock: 1,
+		})
+		require.ErrorIs(t, err, parentErr)
+	})
+}