diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index db36d02..a036674 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -48,3 +48,29 @@ jobs:
         working-directory: app
       - run: npm run lint
         working-directory: app
+
+  e2e:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - uses: actions/setup-node@v5
+        with:
+          node-version: 20
+          cache: npm
+          cache-dependency-path: app/package-lock.json
+      - run: npm ci
+        working-directory: app
+      - run: npx playwright install --with-deps chromium
+        working-directory: app
+      # Build and serve a production bundle, not `next dev`: several past
+      # regressions (e.g. searchParams 500s) only reproduce in prod rendering.
+      - run: npm run build
+        working-directory: app
+      # `@perf`-tagged specs (Web Vitals thresholds, cold-start journey) are
+      # timing-sensitive / require a deployed URL, so they are not gated here.
+      - name: Run e2e against production build
+        working-directory: app
+        run: |
+          npm start &
+          npx --yes wait-on --timeout 60000 http://localhost:3000
+          BASE_URL=http://localhost:3000 npx playwright test --grep-invert @perf
diff --git a/app/e2e/journey-performance.spec.ts b/app/e2e/journey-performance.spec.ts
index 62b6d3d..c55a317 100644
--- a/app/e2e/journey-performance.spec.ts
+++ b/app/e2e/journey-performance.spec.ts
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ const SURNAMES = [
 const baseURL = process.env.BASE_URL ?? "";
 const isRemote = /^https?:\/\//.test(baseURL) && !/localhost|127\.0\.0\.1/.test(baseURL);
 
-test.describe("home → search → athlete journey (cold path)", () => {
+test.describe("home → search → athlete journey (cold path) @perf", () => {
   // A retry would warm the function and hide a cold-path regression.
   test.describe.configure({ retries: 0 });
 
diff --git a/app/e2e/performance.spec.ts b/app/e2e/performance.spec.ts
index 42e903d..a81b470 100644
--- a/app/e2e/performance.spec.ts
+++ b/app/e2e/performance.spec.ts
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ const pages = [
 ];
 
 for (const { name, path } of pages) {
-  test(`${name} page (${path}) loads with acceptable Web Vitals`, async ({
+  test(`${name} page (${path}) loads with acceptable Web Vitals @perf`, async ({
     page,
   }) => {
     // Inject web-vitals collection before navigating
diff --git a/app/e2e/result-share-and-pills.spec.ts b/app/e2e/result-share-and-pills.spec.ts
index 05267d1..6016be1 100644
--- a/app/e2e/result-share-and-pills.spec.ts
+++ b/app/e2e/result-share-and-pills.spec.ts
@@ -16,12 +16,12 @@ test("result page shows AG percentile pills on each discipline card", async ({ p
   await page.waitForURL(new RegExp(`/race/${RACE_SLUG}/result/\\d+`));
 
   // Each of the four discipline cards should have an amber percentile pill.
-  // Pills render either "<N>%" or "—".
+  // Pills render either "Top <N>%" (see formatTopPercent) or "—".
   const pills = page.locator(".bg-amber-400\\/15");
   await expect(pills).toHaveCount(4);
   for (let i = 0; i < 4; i++) {
     const text = (await pills.nth(i).innerText()).trim();
-    expect(text).toMatch(/^(—|\d{1,3}%)$/);
+    expect(text).toMatch(/^(—|Top \d{1,3}%)$/);
   }
 });
 
diff --git a/app/playwright.config.ts b/app/playwright.config.ts
index 4220575..819eeb4 100644
--- a/app/playwright.config.ts
+++ b/app/playwright.config.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,12 @@ import { defineConfig } from "@playwright/test";
 export default defineConfig({
   testDir: "./e2e",
   timeout: 30_000,
+  // On CI the server is a freshly-started production process: the first hit to a
+  // data-heavy dynamic route pays a one-time ~190MB corpus load, which under
+  // parallel load can lose a race with the 5s expect timeout. Retries re-run the
+  // failed test on a now-warm process; genuine failures still fail every attempt.
+  // Local runs stay strict (0) so real flakes surface.
+  retries: process.env.CI ? 2 : 0,
   use: {
     baseURL: process.env.BASE_URL || "http://localhost:3000",
     headless: true,