diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 7042fd7d..8ba88d24 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -24,6 +24,9 @@ CI_IMAGE_TAG ?= latest
 REPO_URL ?= https://github.com/openshift-online/rosa-regional-platform-api
 GIT_REF ?= main
 
+# Container engine: prefer podman, fall back to docker
+CONTAINER_ENGINE ?= $(shell command -v podman 2>/dev/null || command -v docker 2>/dev/null)
+
 # Detect host platform for native builds
 HOST_OS := $(shell uname -s | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')
 HOST_ARCH := $(shell uname -m)
@@ -69,8 +72,8 @@ help:
 	@echo "  verify              - Verify go.mod is tidy"
 	@echo ""
 	@echo "Docker:"
-	@echo "  image                    - Build Docker image"
-	@echo "  image-push               - Push Docker image"
+	@echo "  image                    - Build container image"
+	@echo "  image-push               - Push container image"
 	@echo "  image-e2e                - Build E2E test container (single platform)"
 	@echo "  image-e2e-multiarch      - Build E2E test container (multiarch)"
 	@echo "  image-e2e-push-multiarch - Build and push E2E test container (multiarch)"
@@ -186,9 +189,9 @@ lint:
 # Run linter in CI container with fresh clone (reproduces Prow CI exactly)
 lint-ci-container:
 	@echo "Building CI container image..."
-	docker build -f ci/Containerfile -t $(CI_IMAGE_REPO):$(CI_IMAGE_TAG) .
+	$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) build -f ci/Containerfile -t $(CI_IMAGE_REPO):$(CI_IMAGE_TAG) .
 	@echo "Running linter in CI container with fresh clone from $(REPO_URL)@$(GIT_REF)..."
-	docker run --rm \
+	$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) run --rm \
 		$(CI_IMAGE_REPO):$(CI_IMAGE_TAG) \
 		bash -c "git clone $(REPO_URL) /tmp/repo && cd /tmp/repo && git checkout $(GIT_REF) && ./ci/lint.sh"
 
@@ -197,21 +200,21 @@ clean:
 	rm -f $(BINARY_NAME)
 	rm -f coverage.out coverage.html
 
-# Build Docker image
+# Build container image
 image:
-	docker build --platform $(GOOS)/$(GOARCH) -t $(IMAGE_REPO):$(IMAGE_TAG) .
-	docker tag $(IMAGE_REPO):$(IMAGE_TAG) $(IMAGE_REPO):$(GIT_SHA)
+	$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) build --platform $(GOOS)/$(GOARCH) -t $(IMAGE_REPO):$(IMAGE_TAG) .
+	$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) tag $(IMAGE_REPO):$(IMAGE_TAG) $(IMAGE_REPO):$(GIT_SHA)
 
 # Build E2E test container (single platform)
 image-e2e:
-	docker build -f Containerfile.e2e \
+	$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) build -f Containerfile.e2e \
 		--platform $(GOOS)/$(GOARCH) \
 		-t $(IMAGE_REPO)-e2e:$(IMAGE_TAG) .
-	docker tag $(IMAGE_REPO)-e2e:$(IMAGE_TAG) $(IMAGE_REPO)-e2e:$(GIT_SHA)
+	$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) tag $(IMAGE_REPO)-e2e:$(IMAGE_TAG) $(IMAGE_REPO)-e2e:$(GIT_SHA)
 
 # Build E2E test container for multiple architectures
 image-e2e-multiarch:
-	docker buildx build -f Containerfile.e2e \
+	$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) buildx build -f Containerfile.e2e \
 		--platform $(PLATFORMS) \
 		-t $(IMAGE_REPO)-e2e:$(IMAGE_TAG) \
 		-t $(IMAGE_REPO)-e2e:$(GIT_SHA) \
@@ -219,7 +222,7 @@ image-e2e-multiarch:
 
 # Build and push E2E test container for multiple architectures
 image-e2e-push-multiarch:
-	docker buildx build -f Containerfile.e2e \
+	$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) buildx build -f Containerfile.e2e \
 		--platform $(PLATFORMS) \
 		-t $(IMAGE_REPO)-e2e:$(IMAGE_TAG) \
 		-t $(IMAGE_REPO)-e2e:$(GIT_SHA) \
@@ -240,7 +243,7 @@ GINKGO_CMD += --junit-report=junit.xml --output-dir=/app/test-results ./test/e2e
 test-e2e-container: image-e2e-multiarch
 	@echo "✅ Exporting static credentials from profile $(AWS_PROFILE)..."
 	@eval "$$(aws configure export-credentials --profile $(AWS_PROFILE) --format env-no-export)" && \
-	docker run --rm \
+	$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) run --rm \
 		-e E2E_BASE_URL="$(BASE_URL)" \
 		-e E2E_ACCOUNT_ID="$(E2E_ACCOUNT_ID)" \
 		-e AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID="$$AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID" \
@@ -251,10 +254,10 @@ test-e2e-container: image-e2e-multiarch
 		$(IMAGE_REPO)-e2e:$(IMAGE_TAG) \
 		$(GINKGO_CMD)
 
-# Push Docker image
+# Push container image
 image-push: image
-	docker push $(IMAGE_REPO):$(IMAGE_TAG)
-	docker push $(IMAGE_REPO):$(GIT_SHA)
+	$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) push $(IMAGE_REPO):$(IMAGE_TAG)
+	$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) push $(IMAGE_REPO):$(GIT_SHA)
 
 # Run locally
 run: build
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 1102104e..9670c7dc 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -195,11 +195,11 @@ make test-e2e-container \
 - Set `AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID` and `AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY` directly, OR
 - Ensure your credentials file contains all necessary settings
 
-**Or use Docker/Podman directly**:
+**Or use Podman/Docker directly**:
 
 Standard approach (mounts entire `~/.aws` directory):
 ```bash
-docker run --rm \
+podman run --rm \
   -e E2E_BASE_URL="https://xxxxx.execute-api.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/prod" \
   -e E2E_ACCOUNT_ID="123456789012" \
   -e AWS_PROFILE="my-aws-profile" \
@@ -212,7 +212,7 @@ docker run --rm \
 
 With a custom credentials directory:
 ```bash
-docker run --rm \
+podman run --rm \
   -e E2E_BASE_URL="https://xxxxx.execute-api.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/prod" \
   -e AWS_PROFILE="my-profile" \
   -e AWS_REGION="us-east-2" \
@@ -261,16 +261,9 @@ make test-e2e-container \
 make test-e2e-container BASE_URL="${API_URL}"
 ```
 
-**Using Podman instead of Docker**:
+**Using Docker instead of Podman**:
 ```bash
-# Replace 'docker' with 'podman' in any command
-podman run --rm \
-  -e E2E_BASE_URL="https://xxxxx.execute-api.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/prod" \
-  -e AWS_PROFILE="my-profile" \
-  -e AWS_SDK_LOAD_CONFIG=1 \
-  -v $(pwd)/test-results:/app/test-results \
-  -v ~/.aws:/root/.aws:ro \
-  quay.io/openshift-online/rosa-regional-platform-api-e2e:latest
+# Replace 'podman' with 'docker' in any command, or set CONTAINER_ENGINE=docker for make targets
 ```
 
 #### Troubleshooting AWS Credentials
@@ -341,7 +334,7 @@ Or, get temporary credentials from your credential process locally and pass them
 aws configure export-credentials --profile rrp-chris-regional_cluster --format env
 
 # Then use the output to set env vars and run without mounting credentials
-docker run --rm \
+podman run --rm \
   -e E2E_BASE_URL="https://xxxxx.execute-api.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/prod" \
   -e AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID="..." \
   -e AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY="..." \
diff --git a/ci/build-push-image.sh b/ci/build-push-image.sh
index 28aec55d..64cf5cb6 100755
--- a/ci/build-push-image.sh
+++ b/ci/build-push-image.sh
@@ -20,13 +20,13 @@ SHORT_SHA="${GIT_SHA:0:7}"
 
 echo "Building image: ${IMAGE_REPO}:${SHORT_SHA}"
 
-# Detect container runtime
-if command -v docker &>/dev/null; then
-  RUNTIME=docker
-elif command -v podman &>/dev/null; then
+# Detect container runtime (prefer podman)
+if command -v podman &>/dev/null; then
   RUNTIME=podman
+elif command -v docker &>/dev/null; then
+  RUNTIME=docker
 else
-  echo "ERROR: neither docker nor podman found" >&2
+  echo "ERROR: neither podman nor docker found" >&2
   exit 1
 fi