diff --git a/.buildkite/pipeline.yml b/.buildkite/pipeline.yml
index c01e5800d..70a3c4815 100644
--- a/.buildkite/pipeline.yml
+++ b/.buildkite/pipeline.yml
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 steps:
   - label: ":docker: Build image"
+    key: image-build
     commands:
       - "docker build --file docker/Dockerfile.ci -t vllm-omni-ci ."
       - "docker tag vllm-omni-ci public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-omni-ci:latest"
@@ -8,6 +9,7 @@ steps:
       queue: "cpu_queue_premerge_us_east_1"
 
   - label: "Simple Unit Test"
+    depends_on: image-build
     commands:
       - ".buildkite/scripts/simple_test.sh"
     agents: