diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 419de4f4..a04e1143 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 - [OpenAPI] Add support for per-endpoint OAuth2/OpenID scopes via `@auth_scope` tag by [@Piyush-Goenka](https://github.com/Piyush-Goenka) (#272).
 - Reuse `define_dynamic_method` and `define_maybe_yield` methods in `RageController::API` from `Rage::Internal` by [@numice](https://github.com/numice) (#273).
 - Add the `form_actions` router configuration (#278).
+- [Deferred] Add native periodic task scheduling with multi-process leader election via `File#flock` by [@Abishekcs](https://github.com/Abishekcs) (#233).
 
 ### Fixed
 
diff --git a/lib/rage/configuration.rb b/lib/rage/configuration.rb
index 702d5416..69c759dd 100644
--- a/lib/rage/configuration.rb
+++ b/lib/rage/configuration.rb
@@ -715,6 +715,39 @@ class Deferred
     # @private
     def initialize
       @configured = false
+      @schedule_blocks = []
+    end
+
+    # Stores the scheduling block for later execution
+    def schedule(&block)
+      @schedule_blocks << block
+    end
+
+    # Evaluates all stored schedule blocks and returns the collected tasks.
+    # Called at boot time after all app constants are loaded.
+    def scheduled_tasks
+      @schedule_blocks.flat_map do |block|
+        dsl = ScheduleDSL.new
+        dsl.instance_eval(&block)
+        dsl.tasks
+      end
+    end
+
+    # @private
+    class ScheduleDSL
+      attr_reader :tasks
+
+      def initialize
+        @tasks = []
+      end
+
+      # Registers a task to run on a fixed interval (in seconds)
+      def every(interval, task:)
+        unless task.is_a?(Class) && task.include?(Rage::Deferred::Task)
+          raise ArgumentError, "#{task} must be a class that includes Rage::Deferred::Task"
+        end
+        @tasks << { interval:, task: }
+      end
     end
 
     # Returns the backend instance used by `Rage::Deferred`.
diff --git a/lib/rage/deferred/deferred.rb b/lib/rage/deferred/deferred.rb
index 470a5b90..274eba34 100644
--- a/lib/rage/deferred/deferred.rb
+++ b/lib/rage/deferred/deferred.rb
@@ -82,10 +82,16 @@ def self.__middleware_chain
     )
   end
 
+  # @private
+  def self.__start_scheduler
+    Rage::Deferred::Scheduler.start(Rage.config.deferred.scheduled_tasks)
+  end
+
   # @private
   def self.__initialize
     __middleware_chain
     __load_tasks
+    __start_scheduler
   end
 
   module Backends
@@ -96,6 +102,7 @@ class PushTimeout < StandardError
 end
 
 require_relative "task"
+require_relative "scheduler"
 require_relative "queue"
 require_relative "proxy"
 require_relative "context"
diff --git a/lib/rage/deferred/scheduler.rb b/lib/rage/deferred/scheduler.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a055ccab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/rage/deferred/scheduler.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+# frozen_string_literal: true
+
+class Rage::Deferred::Scheduler
+  LOCK_PATH = "/tmp/rage_deferred_scheduler.lock"
+
+  def self.start(tasks)
+    return if tasks.empty?
+
+    Rage::Internal.pick_a_worker(lock_path: LOCK_PATH) do
+      Rage.logger.info " Worker PID #{Process.pid} is managing scheduled tasks"
+      register_timers tasks
+    end
+  end
+
+  def self.register_timers(tasks)
+    tasks.each do |entry|
+      Iodine.run_every((entry[:interval] * 1000).to_i) do
+        entry[:task].enqueue
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/lib/rage/internal.rb b/lib/rage/internal.rb
index dc15383b..b0d09430 100644
--- a/lib/rage/internal.rb
+++ b/lib/rage/internal.rb
@@ -67,17 +67,18 @@ def stream_name_for(streamables)
     # Pick a worker process to execute a block of code.
     # This is useful for ensuring that certain code is only executed by a single worker in a multi-worker setup, e.g. for broadcasting messages to known streams or for running periodic tasks.
     # @yield The block of code to be executed by the picked worker
-    def pick_a_worker(&block)
-      @lock_file, lock_path = Tempfile.new.yield_self { |file| [file, file.path] }
-
-      Iodine.on_state(:on_start) do
-        worker_lock = File.new(lock_path)
+    def pick_a_worker(lock_path: nil, &block)
+      @lock_file, lock_path = Tempfile.new.yield_self { |f| [f, f.path] } unless lock_path
 
+      attempt = proc do
+        worker_lock = File.open(lock_path, File::CREAT | File::WRONLY)
         if worker_lock.flock(File::LOCK_EX | File::LOCK_NB)
           @worker_lock = worker_lock
           block.call
         end
       end
+
+      Iodine.running? ? attempt.call : Iodine.on_state(:on_start) { attempt.call }
     end
 
     private
diff --git a/spec/deferred/scheduler_spec.rb b/spec/deferred/scheduler_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1448d985
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/deferred/scheduler_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+# frozen_string_literal: true
+
+RSpec.describe Rage::Deferred::Scheduler do
+  let(:task) { double("Rage::Deferred::Task") }
+  let(:tasks) { [{ interval: 60, task: task }] }
+  let(:logger) { double("Logger", info: nil) }
+
+  before do
+    allow(Rage).to receive(:logger).and_return(logger)
+    allow(Iodine).to receive(:run_every)
+    allow(Rage::Internal).to receive(:pick_a_worker) { |&block| block.call }
+    allow(task).to receive(:enqueue)
+  end
+
+  describe ".start" do
+    it "does not start when no tasks are configured" do
+      described_class.start([])
+      expect(Iodine).not_to have_received(:run_every)
+    end
+
+    it "registers timers when leader is elected" do
+      described_class.start(tasks)
+      expect(Iodine).to have_received(:run_every).with(60_000)
+    end
+
+    it "does not register task timers when lock is not acquired" do
+      allow(Rage::Internal).to receive(:pick_a_worker)
+      described_class.start(tasks)
+      expect(Iodine).not_to have_received(:run_every)
+    end
+
+    it "registers a timer for each task" do
+      tasks = [
+        { interval: 60, task: double(enqueue: true) },
+        { interval: 120, task: double(enqueue: true) }
+      ]
+      described_class.start(tasks)
+      expect(Iodine).to have_received(:run_every).with(60_000)
+      expect(Iodine).to have_received(:run_every).with(120_000)
+    end
+
+    it "calls enqueue on the task when timer fires" do
+      allow(Iodine).to receive(:run_every).with(60_000) { |&block| block.call }
+      described_class.start(tasks)
+      expect(task).to have_received(:enqueue)
+    end
+
+    it "passes the correct lock path to pick_a_worker" do
+      described_class.start(tasks)
+      expect(Rage::Internal).to have_received(:pick_a_worker).with(lock_path: Rage::Deferred::Scheduler::LOCK_PATH)
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/internal_spec.rb b/spec/internal_spec.rb
index 0761bbc4..bc46ba09 100644
--- a/spec/internal_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/internal_spec.rb
@@ -99,6 +99,7 @@
     let(:on_start_callbacks) { [] }
 
     before do
+      allow(Iodine).to receive(:running?).and_return(false)
       allow(Iodine).to receive(:on_state).with(:on_start) do |&block|
         on_start_callbacks << block
       end
@@ -116,6 +117,13 @@
       expect(on_start_callbacks.size).to eq(1)
     end
 
+    it "executes the block immediately when Iodine is already running" do
+      allow(Iodine).to receive(:running?).and_return(true)
+      executed = false
+      described_class.pick_a_worker { executed = true }
+      expect(executed).to be(true)
+    end
+
     it "creates a lock file" do
       described_class.pick_a_worker { "work" }
 
@@ -123,6 +131,13 @@
       expect(File.exist?(lock_file.path)).to be(true)
     end
 
+    it "uses provided lock_path instead of creating a new tempfile" do
+      lock_path = Tempfile.new.path
+      expect(Tempfile).not_to receive(:new)
+      described_class.pick_a_worker(lock_path: lock_path) { "work" }
+      on_start_callbacks.first.call
+    end
+
     it "executes the block when lock is acquired" do
       executed = false
       described_class.pick_a_worker { executed = true }