diff --git a/script/slurm/slurm_nss_matrix.sh b/script/slurm/slurm_nss_matrix.sh
index a4ca83cf..f1bcad62 100644
--- a/script/slurm/slurm_nss_matrix.sh
+++ b/script/slurm/slurm_nss_matrix.sh
@@ -55,7 +55,11 @@ EXP_NAME="${EXP_NAME:-multi_jobs}"
 BASE_LOG_DIR="${BASE_LOG_DIR:-./}"
 
 
-cd "${NSS_DIR}"
+# Only cd into the repo when using the repo-based install; in PyPI mode the
+# working directory does not matter for package resolution.
+if [[ -z "${NSS_VERSION:-}" ]]; then
+    cd "${NSS_DIR}"
+fi
 
 # Get dataset and config name from packed strings
 declare -a all_datasets
@@ -88,8 +92,24 @@ apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
 
 # Ensure Python environment is available inside the container
 source "${LUSTRE_DIR}/.uv/bin/env"
-source "${NSS_DIR}/.venv/bin/activate"
-uv sync --frozen --extra cu128 --extra engine --group dev
+if [[ -n "${NSS_VERSION:-}" ]]; then
+    # Install nemo-safe-synthesizer from PyPI into a versioned venv cached on
+    # lustre so concurrent array jobs can share it without redundant downloads.
+    PYPI_VENV="${LUSTRE_DIR}/.venv_nss_${NSS_VERSION}"
+    uv venv --python 3.11 "${PYPI_VENV}"
+    source "${PYPI_VENV}/bin/activate"
+    uv pip install "nemo-safe-synthesizer[cu128,engine]==${NSS_VERSION}" \
+        --extra-index-url https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cu128 \
+        --extra-index-url https://flashinfer.ai/whl/cu128 \
+        --index-strategy unsafe-best-match
+    NSS_RUN_CMD="${PYPI_VENV}/bin/safe-synthesizer"
+    echo "[NSS SLURM] Using PyPI install: nemo-safe-synthesizer==${NSS_VERSION}"
+else
+    source "${NSS_DIR}/.venv/bin/activate"
+    uv sync --frozen --extra cu128 --extra engine --group dev
+    NSS_RUN_CMD="uv run safe-synthesizer"
+fi
+echo "[NSS SLURM] nemo-safe-synthesizer version: $(python -c 'from nemo_safe_synthesizer.package_info import __version__; print(__version__)')"
 
 
 # for column classification
@@ -166,7 +186,7 @@ fi
 if [[ "${NSS_PHASE}" == "train" ]]; then
     # Stage 1: PII replacement + training
     # Creates new workdir at run_path with adapter
-    uv run safe-synthesizer run train \
+    ${NSS_RUN_CMD} run train \
         --data-source "$dataset" \
         --config "$full_config_path" \
         --run-path "$run_path" \
@@ -182,7 +202,7 @@ elif [[ "${NSS_PHASE}" == "generate" ]]; then
         wandb_resume_arg="--wandb-resume-job-id $wandb_id_file"
     fi
 
-    uv run safe-synthesizer run generate \
+    ${NSS_RUN_CMD} run generate \
         --data-source "$dataset" \
         --config "$full_config_path" \
         --run-path "$run_path" \
@@ -190,7 +210,7 @@ elif [[ "${NSS_PHASE}" == "generate" ]]; then
         $wandb_resume_arg
 else
     # Full end-to-end run
-    uv run safe-synthesizer run \
+    ${NSS_RUN_CMD} run \
         --data-source "$dataset" \
         --config "$full_config_path" \
         --run-path "$run_path" \
diff --git a/script/slurm/submit_slurm_jobs.sh b/script/slurm/submit_slurm_jobs.sh
index 371691bd..640e13ed 100644
--- a/script/slurm/submit_slurm_jobs.sh
+++ b/script/slurm/submit_slurm_jobs.sh
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ PIPELINE_MODE="end_to_end"  # values: two_stage | end_to_end
 CONFIGS_CSV=""  # optional override for CONFIGS array (comma-separated)
 WANDB_PROJECT="" # optional wandb project name; uses EXP_NAME if not provided
 MAX_CONCURRENT_SLURM_JOBS="" # optional max number of concurrent slurm jobs to run within each array; if not provided, no restriction is applied
+NSS_VERSION="" # optional: install nemo-safe-synthesizer from PyPI at this version instead of syncing the repo
 ACCOUNT="${ACCOUNT:-llmservice_sdg_research}"
 TIME_LIMIT="04:00:00"
 TRAIN_TIME_LIMIT=""
@@ -43,6 +44,8 @@ while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
       WANDB_PROJECT="${2:-}"; shift 2;;
     --max-concurrent-slurm-jobs)
       MAX_CONCURRENT_SLURM_JOBS="${2:-$MAX_CONCURRENT_SLURM_JOBS}"; shift 2;;
+    --nss-version|-V)
+      NSS_VERSION="${2:-}"; shift 2;;
     --time-limit|-t)
       TIME_LIMIT="${2:-$TIME_LIMIT}"; shift 2;;
     --train-time-limit)
@@ -52,12 +55,16 @@ while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
     --dry-run)
       DRY_RUN="true"; shift;;
     --help|-h)
-      echo "Usage: $0 [--configs c1,c2] [--dataset-urls name1,url1,path1] [--dataset-group short|long] [--runs N] [--exp-name NAME] [--pipeline-mode two_stage|end_to_end] [--partition P] [--wandb-project PROJECT] [--max-concurrent-slurm-jobs N] [--time-limit TIME] [--train-time-limit TIME] [--generate-time-limit TIME] [--dry-run]"
+      echo "Usage: $0 [--configs c1,c2] [--dataset-urls name1,url1,path1] [--dataset-group short|long] [--runs N] [--exp-name NAME] [--pipeline-mode two_stage|end_to_end] [--partition P] [--wandb-project PROJECT] [--max-concurrent-slurm-jobs N] [--time-limit TIME] [--train-time-limit TIME] [--generate-time-limit TIME] [--nss-version VERSION] [--dry-run]"
       echo ""
       echo "Provide either --dataset-urls to specify a list of datasets by name, url, or path, or --dataset-group to use a predefined set of datasets."
       echo "Time limits:"
       echo "    --time-limit is used for end_to_end mode (defaults to 4 hours)"
       echo "    --train-time-limit and --generate-time-limit are used for two_stage mode, and will default to --time-limit if the more more specific train and generate limits are not provided"
+      echo "Package installation:"
+      echo "    --nss-version VERSION  install nemo-safe-synthesizer==VERSION from PyPI instead of syncing the repo"
+      echo "                           example: --nss-version 0.2.3"
+      echo "                           if omitted, the repo at NSS_DIR is used (default behavior)"
 
       exit 0;;
     --) shift; break;;
@@ -115,6 +122,7 @@ fi
 
 export ACCOUNT
 export EXP_NAME
+export NSS_VERSION
 
 # Build configs list: CLI override (comma-separated) takes precedence; otherwise use CONFIGS from env
 declare -a CONFIGS_LIST