diff --git a/cmd/silo/main.go b/cmd/silo/main.go
index a5098b26..c1e36143 100644
--- a/cmd/silo/main.go
+++ b/cmd/silo/main.go
@@ -1538,6 +1538,7 @@ func main() {
 			cfg.Recommendations.TasteProfilesCron,
 			cfg.Recommendations.CowatchCron,
 			cfg.Recommendations.RecommendationsCron,
+			cfg.Recommendations.EmbeddingsJobTimeout,
 		)
 		if err != nil {
 			slog.Error("failed to create recommendation worker", "error", err)
diff --git a/internal/config/config.go b/internal/config/config.go
index 1668ef51..f45994e1 100644
--- a/internal/config/config.go
+++ b/internal/config/config.go
@@ -246,6 +246,10 @@ type RecommendationsConfig struct {
 	TasteDecayHalfLifeDays float64 `yaml:"-"`
 	DiversityLambda        float64 `yaml:"-"`
 	CowatchCron            string  `yaml:"-"`
+	// EmbeddingsJobTimeout bounds a single embedding backfill run. A local
+	// CPU embedder over a large catalog needs hours, so this defaults to 24h
+	// (replacing a hardcoded 30m that truncated large first-run backfills).
+	EmbeddingsJobTimeout time.Duration `yaml:"-"`
 }
 
 // AIConfig holds the shared connection settings for Silo's AI features
diff --git a/internal/config/db_loader.go b/internal/config/db_loader.go
index 7e23fbe9..3bd3927b 100644
--- a/internal/config/db_loader.go
+++ b/internal/config/db_loader.go
@@ -413,6 +413,10 @@ func LoadFromDB(m map[string]string) (*Config, error) {
 	}())
 	cfg.Recommendations.EmbeddingAuthToken = stringOr(m, "recommendations.embedding_auth_token", stringOr(m, "recommendations.openai_api_key", ""))
 	cfg.Recommendations.EmbeddingsCron = stringOr(m, "recommendations.embeddings_cron", "0 3 * * *")
+	cfg.Recommendations.EmbeddingsJobTimeout, err = durationOr(m, "recommendations.embeddings_job_timeout", 24*time.Hour)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
 	cfg.Recommendations.TasteProfilesCron = stringOr(m, "recommendations.taste_profiles_cron", "0 4 * * *")
 	cfg.Recommendations.RecommendationsCron = stringOr(m, "recommendations.recommendations_cron", "0 5 * * *")
 	tasteDecayHalfLife, err := floatOr(m, "recommendations.taste_decay_half_life_days", 180)
diff --git a/internal/recommendations/worker.go b/internal/recommendations/worker.go
index 2a64dc1b..5bdc3960 100644
--- a/internal/recommendations/worker.go
+++ b/internal/recommendations/worker.go
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ type Worker struct {
 	profileRefreshCh      chan profileRefreshRequest
 	profileRefreshPending map[string]struct{}
 	cancelFunc            context.CancelFunc
+	embeddingsJobTimeout  time.Duration
 }
 
 const tasteProfileRefreshSubjectsQuery = `
@@ -45,13 +46,17 @@ const tasteProfileRefreshSubjectsQuery = `
 	SELECT DISTINCT user_id, profile_id FROM user_watchlist`
 
 // NewWorker creates a new recommendation Worker.
-func NewWorker(engine *Engine, embeddingsCron, tasteProfilesCron, cowatchCron, recommendationsCron string) (*Worker, error) {
+func NewWorker(engine *Engine, embeddingsCron, tasteProfilesCron, cowatchCron, recommendationsCron string, embeddingsJobTimeout time.Duration) (*Worker, error) {
+	if embeddingsJobTimeout <= 0 {
+		embeddingsJobTimeout = 24 * time.Hour
+	}
 	w := &Worker{
 		engine:                engine,
 		cron:                  cron.New(),
 		running:               make(map[JobName]bool),
 		profileRefreshCh:      make(chan profileRefreshRequest, 256),
 		profileRefreshPending: make(map[string]struct{}),
+		embeddingsJobTimeout:  embeddingsJobTimeout,
 	}
 
 	if _, err := w.cron.AddFunc(embeddingsCron, w.runEmbeddings); err != nil {
@@ -123,9 +128,9 @@ func (w *Worker) TriggerEmbeddings() error {
 	}
 	go func() {
 		defer w.setRunning(JobEmbeddings, false)
-		ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 30*time.Minute)
+		ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), w.embeddingsJobTimeout)
 		defer cancel()
-		slog.Info("starting embedding job (manual trigger)")
+		slog.Info("starting embedding job (manual trigger)", "timeout", w.embeddingsJobTimeout)
 		count, err := w.engine.EmbedAll(ctx)
 		if err != nil {
 			slog.Error("embedding job failed", "error", err, "embedded", count)
@@ -236,9 +241,9 @@ func (w *Worker) runEmbeddings() {
 	}
 	defer w.setRunning(JobEmbeddings, false)
 
-	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 30*time.Minute)
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), w.embeddingsJobTimeout)
 	defer cancel()
-	slog.Info("starting embedding job")
+	slog.Info("starting embedding job", "timeout", w.embeddingsJobTimeout)
 	count, err := w.engine.EmbedAll(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
 		slog.Error("embedding job failed", "error", err, "embedded", count)