diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 7f21cbcff..b5e17a6fe 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -2663,6 +2663,16 @@ dependencies = [
  "memchr",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "ctor"
+version = "0.2.9"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "32a2785755761f3ddc1492979ce1e48d2c00d09311c39e4466429188f3dd6501"
+dependencies = [
+ "quote",
+ "syn 2.0.106",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "ctr"
 version = "0.9.2"
@@ -4710,6 +4720,8 @@ version = "1.0.0"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "chrono",
+ "ctor",
+ "dotenvy",
  "futures",
  "jsonwebtoken",
  "prost 0.14.1",
diff --git a/services/integration_tests/Cargo.toml b/services/integration_tests/Cargo.toml
index a45ef27ef..35c52a392 100644
--- a/services/integration_tests/Cargo.toml
+++ b/services/integration_tests/Cargo.toml
@@ -41,6 +41,9 @@ chrono = { workspace = true }
 # Environment variables
 dotenvy = "0.15"
 
+# Constructor hooks for test initialization
+ctor = "0.2"
+
 [dev-dependencies]
 # Test utilities
 serial_test.workspace = true
diff --git a/services/integration_tests/tests/common/auth_helpers.rs b/services/integration_tests/tests/common/auth_helpers.rs
index 7c5ba2d09..8ac471000 100644
--- a/services/integration_tests/tests/common/auth_helpers.rs
+++ b/services/integration_tests/tests/common/auth_helpers.rs
@@ -23,6 +23,19 @@
 //! }
 //! ```
 
+/// Initialize test environment by loading .env file
+/// This runs BEFORE module initialization, ensuring JWT_SECRET is available
+#[ctor::ctor]
+fn init_test_env() {
+    // Load .env file at module initialization time
+    let _ = dotenvy::dotenv();
+
+    // Verify JWT_SECRET is available
+    if std::env::var("JWT_SECRET").is_err() {
+        eprintln!("WARNING: JWT_SECRET not found in .env file");
+    }
+}
+
 use anyhow::{Context, Result};
 use chrono::{Duration, Utc};
 use jsonwebtoken::{encode, Algorithm, EncodingKey, Header};
@@ -200,9 +213,6 @@ impl TestAuthConfig {
 /// 2. Set JWT_SECRET in .env file
 /// 3. Load .env before running tests (e.g., `source .env` or use dotenv)
 pub fn get_test_jwt_secret() -> String {
-    // Load .env file for JWT_SECRET (idempotent, safe to call multiple times)
-    let _ = dotenvy::dotenv();
-
     std::env::var("JWT_SECRET").expect(
         "FATAL: JWT_SECRET must be set in .env file for E2E tests\n\
          \n\