diff --git a/autobot-backend/orchestration/workflow_executor.py b/autobot-backend/orchestration/workflow_executor.py
index 8ab1ceada..d861db0a3 100644
--- a/autobot-backend/orchestration/workflow_executor.py
+++ b/autobot-backend/orchestration/workflow_executor.py
@@ -6,6 +6,9 @@
 
 Issue #381: Extracted from enhanced_orchestrator.py god class refactoring.
 Contains workflow execution, step coordination, and agent interaction handling.
+
+Issue #2168: Added circuit breaker + retry decorators to step execution.
+Issue #2172: Added parallel execution for independent workflow steps.
 """
 
 import asyncio
@@ -15,7 +18,13 @@
 from datetime import datetime
 from typing import Any, Callable, Dict, List, Optional
 
-from constants.threshold_constants import TimingConstants
+from circuit_breaker import circuit_breaker_async
+from constants.threshold_constants import (
+    CircuitBreakerDefaults,
+    RetryConfig,
+    TimingConstants,
+)
+from retry_mechanism import RetryStrategy, retry_async
 
 from .types import AgentInteraction, AgentProfile
 
@@ -57,6 +66,52 @@ def __init__(
         self._release_agent = release_agent_callback
         self._update_performance = update_performance_callback
 
+    def _group_steps_by_dependency(
+        self, steps: List[Dict[str, Any]]
+    ) -> List[List[Dict[str, Any]]]:
+        """
+        Group workflow steps for parallel execution.
+
+        Steps with no unmet dependencies form a parallel group. Each group
+        runs concurrently; groups are ordered sequentially. Mirrors the
+        DependencyAnalyzer.get_parallel_groups pattern from
+        tools/parallel/analyzer.py. Issue #2172.
+
+        Args:
+            steps: List of workflow steps with optional 'dependencies' field
+
+        Returns:
+            Ordered list of groups; steps in each group run concurrently
+        """
+        step_map = {s["id"]: s for s in steps}
+        remaining = [s["id"] for s in steps]
+        completed: set = set()
+        groups: List[List[Dict[str, Any]]] = []
+
+        while remaining:
+            ready_ids = [
+                sid
+                for sid in remaining
+                if all(
+                    dep in completed for dep in step_map[sid].get("dependencies", [])
+                )
+            ]
+
+            if not ready_ids:
+                logger.error(
+                    "Circular dependency in workflow steps; falling back to sequential"
+                )
+                for sid in remaining:
+                    groups.append([step_map[sid]])
+                break
+
+            groups.append([step_map[sid] for sid in ready_ids])
+            for sid in ready_ids:
+                remaining.remove(sid)
+            completed.update(ready_ids)
+
+        return groups
+
     def _determine_workflow_status(
         self, steps: List[Dict[str, Any]], execution_context: Dict[str, Any]
     ) -> None:
@@ -138,16 +193,17 @@ async def execute_coordinated_workflow(
         }
 
         try:
-            # Execute steps with dependency management (Issue #398: refactored)
-            for step in steps:
-                if not await self._check_step_dependencies(
-                    step, execution_context["step_results"]
-                ):
-                    logger.warning("Step %s dependencies not met, skipping", step["id"])
-                    step["status"] = "skipped"
-                    continue
+            # Execute steps in dependency-ordered parallel groups (Issue #2172)
+            groups = self._group_steps_by_dependency(steps)
+            logger.info(
+                "Workflow %s: %d steps in %d parallel group(s)",
+                workflow_id,
+                len(steps),
+                len(groups),
+            )
 
-                await self._execute_step_with_agent(step, execution_context, context)
+            for group in groups:
+                await self._execute_step_group(group, execution_context, context)
 
             self._determine_workflow_status(steps, execution_context)
             return execution_context
@@ -158,6 +214,37 @@ async def execute_coordinated_workflow(
             execution_context["error"] = str(e)
             return execution_context
 
+    async def _execute_step_group(
+        self,
+        group: List[Dict[str, Any]],
+        execution_context: Dict[str, Any],
+        context: Dict[str, Any],
+    ) -> None:
+        """
+        Execute a group of steps concurrently using asyncio.gather.
+
+        Steps within a group have no inter-dependencies and are safe to run
+        in parallel. Issue #2172.
+
+        Args:
+            group: Steps to execute in parallel
+            execution_context: Shared execution context
+            context: Workflow context
+        """
+        if len(group) == 1:
+            await self._execute_step_with_agent(group[0], execution_context, context)
+            return
+
+        logger.info(
+            "Executing %d steps in parallel: %s", len(group), [s["id"] for s in group]
+        )
+        await asyncio.gather(
+            *(
+                self._execute_step_with_agent(step, execution_context, context)
+                for step in group
+            )
+        )
+
     async def _check_step_dependencies(
         self,
         step: Dict[str, Any],
@@ -272,6 +359,14 @@ def _build_step_failure_result(
             "step_id": step_id,
         }
 
+    @circuit_breaker_async(
+        "workflow_step_execution",
+        failure_threshold=CircuitBreakerDefaults.LLM_FAILURE_THRESHOLD,
+        recovery_timeout=CircuitBreakerDefaults.LLM_RECOVERY_TIMEOUT,
+    )
+    @retry_async(
+        max_attempts=RetryConfig.MIN_RETRIES, strategy=RetryStrategy.EXPONENTIAL_BACKOFF
+    )
     async def _execute_coordinated_step(
         self,
         step: Dict[str, Any],
@@ -282,6 +377,7 @@ async def _execute_coordinated_step(
         Execute a single workflow step with agent coordination.
 
         Issue #620: Refactored to use extracted helper methods.
+        Issue #2168: Protected by circuit breaker and retry decorator.
 
         Args:
             step: The step to execute