diff --git a/python/lib/sift_py/yaml/_utils_test.py b/python/lib/sift_py/yaml/_utils_test.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..279fedc8b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/python/lib/sift_py/yaml/_utils_test.py
@@ -0,0 +1,109 @@
+"""Exercises the three YAML loader paths in :mod:`sift_py.yaml.utils`.
+
+The three paths, in priority order inside :func:`try_fast_yaml_load`:
+
+1. ``rapidyaml`` (``ryml``) -- C++ bindings, declared as a required dependency.
+2. pyyaml ``CSafeLoader`` -- libyaml-backed, available on platforms whose
+   pyyaml wheel ships libyaml (i.e. almost all of them).
+3. pyyaml ``safe_load`` -- pure-Python fallback used when neither libyaml nor
+   rapidyaml is installed.
+
+Each path should produce an identical dict for the shipped example ingest
+config, including correct resolution of anchors (``&foo`` / ``*foo``) and
+YAML 1.1 merge keys (``<<: *foo``) used heavily by that config.
+"""
+
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import pytest
+import yaml
+
+from sift_py.yaml import utils
+
+EXAMPLE_CONFIG = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[3] / "examples" / "telemetry_config.example.yml"
+
+
+def _force_pure_python_pyyaml(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch) -> None:
+    """Hide ``yaml.CSafeLoader`` so ``_pyyaml_load`` falls through to ``safe_load``."""
+    monkeypatch.delattr(yaml, "CSafeLoader", raising=False)
+
+
+def _assert_sift_ingest_shape(config: dict) -> None:
+    """Sanity-check that *config* is a well-formed Sift ingest YAML dict.
+
+    Focuses on fields that a miswired loader would get wrong: anchors resolving
+    to inline dicts, merge keys (``<<:``) being expanded rather than left as
+    literal ``"<<"`` keys, and numeric scalars surviving the round-trip as
+    ints rather than strings.
+    """
+    assert isinstance(config, dict)
+    assert isinstance(config.get("asset_name"), str)
+    assert isinstance(config["channels"], dict)
+    assert isinstance(config["flows"], list)
+    assert config["flows"], "example config should declare at least one flow"
+
+    for flow in config["flows"]:
+        assert isinstance(flow["name"], str)
+        for ch in flow.get("channels", []):
+            if not isinstance(ch, dict):
+                continue
+            # Merge keys must be inlined, not left as a literal "<<" key.
+            assert "<<" not in ch, f"unresolved merge key in flow channel: {ch!r}"
+            # Any numeric field (bit_field_elements[].index, enum_types[].key)
+            # must come back as int, not str.
+            for enum in ch.get("enum_types", []) or []:
+                assert isinstance(enum.get("key"), int), f"enum key not int: {enum!r}"
+            for bit in ch.get("bit_field_elements", []) or []:
+                assert isinstance(bit.get("index"), int), f"bit index not int: {bit!r}"
+                assert isinstance(bit.get("bit_count"), int), f"bit_count not int: {bit!r}"
+
+
+def test_rapidyaml_load_path():
+    """Primary path: rapidyaml produces a schema-valid ingest dict."""
+    pytest.importorskip("ryml")
+    result = utils._rapidyaml_load(EXAMPLE_CONFIG)
+    _assert_sift_ingest_shape(result)
+
+
+def test_pyyaml_csafeloader_path():
+    """Fallback path 1: pyyaml's libyaml-backed ``CSafeLoader``."""
+    if not hasattr(yaml, "CSafeLoader"):
+        pytest.skip("libyaml/CSafeLoader not installed in this environment")
+    result = utils._pyyaml_load(EXAMPLE_CONFIG)
+    _assert_sift_ingest_shape(result)
+
+
+def test_pyyaml_pure_python_path(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch):
+    """Fallback path 2: pure-Python ``safe_load`` with ``CSafeLoader`` hidden."""
+    _force_pure_python_pyyaml(monkeypatch)
+    assert not hasattr(yaml, "CSafeLoader"), "monkeypatch failed to hide CSafeLoader"
+    result = utils._pyyaml_load(EXAMPLE_CONFIG)
+    _assert_sift_ingest_shape(result)
+
+
+def test_all_three_loaders_agree(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch):
+    """rapidyaml, CSafeLoader, and pure-Python ``safe_load`` return the same dict.
+
+    Dispatch order matters: call the two pyyaml paths *after* rapidyaml, and
+    perform the pure-Python load last so the ``CSafeLoader`` monkeypatch
+    cannot leak into the libyaml path.
+    """
+    pytest.importorskip("ryml")
+    if not hasattr(yaml, "CSafeLoader"):
+        pytest.skip("libyaml/CSafeLoader not installed; cannot compare all three")
+
+    via_ryml = utils._rapidyaml_load(EXAMPLE_CONFIG)
+    via_csafe = utils._pyyaml_load(EXAMPLE_CONFIG)
+
+    _force_pure_python_pyyaml(monkeypatch)
+    via_safe = utils._pyyaml_load(EXAMPLE_CONFIG)
+
+    assert via_ryml == via_csafe
+    assert via_csafe == via_safe
+
+
+def test_try_fast_yaml_load_dispatches_to_rapidyaml_when_available():
+    """``try_fast_yaml_load`` returns the rapidyaml result when ``_HAS_RYML`` is true."""
+    pytest.importorskip("ryml")
+    assert utils._HAS_RYML, "rapidyaml declared as a required dep but not detected"
+    assert utils.try_fast_yaml_load(EXAMPLE_CONFIG) == utils._rapidyaml_load(EXAMPLE_CONFIG)
diff --git a/python/lib/sift_py/yaml/utils.py b/python/lib/sift_py/yaml/utils.py
index 4270046f2..99fafc5ec 100644
--- a/python/lib/sift_py/yaml/utils.py
+++ b/python/lib/sift_py/yaml/utils.py
@@ -1,8 +1,16 @@
+import json
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Any, Callable, Dict, Type, cast
 
 import yaml
 
+try:
+    import ryml
+except ImportError:
+    ryml = None  # type: ignore[assignment]
+
+_HAS_RYML = ryml is not None
+
 
 def _handle_subdir(path: Path, file_handler: Callable):
     """The file_handler callable must accept a Path object as its only argument."""
@@ -17,13 +25,58 @@ def _type_fqn(typ: Type) -> str:
     return f"{typ.__module__}.{typ.__name__}"
 
 
-def try_fast_yaml_load(path: Path) -> Dict[Any, Any]:
-    """
-    Try to load the YAML file using the CSafeLoader, which is faster than the pyyaml safe loader but not built into the wheel for earlier versions of python..
-    If the CSafeLoader is not available, use the pyyaml safe loader.
+def _rapidyaml_load(path: Path) -> Dict[Any, Any]:
+    """Parse YAML via rapidyaml, round-tripping through JSON for a plain dict.
+
+    rapidyaml (``ryml``) is the C++ ryml binding; it is materially faster than
+    pyyaml on Sift telemetry configs (~3-4x on the example files, higher on
+    large files). ``tree.resolve()`` is called before emit, which inlines both
+    anchors/aliases (``&x`` / ``*x``) and merge keys (``<<: *x``); combined
+    with ``emit_json``'s scalar type inference, the returned dict matches
+    pyyaml's safe-load semantics on every config we ship today.
+
+    The one semantic diff to watch for is YAML 1.1-isms that rapidyaml (YAML
+    1.2) does not treat as typed: e.g. ``yes``/``no`` stay strings, and
+    sexagesimal numbers stay strings. Existing Sift configs do not use these.
+
+    Only call this when ``_HAS_RYML`` is true; the ``assert`` below narrows the
+    type for static analysis and is an invariant the dispatcher upholds.
     """
+    assert ryml is not None, "rapidyaml is not installed; call _pyyaml_load instead"
+    with open(path, "rb") as f:
+        tree = ryml.parse_in_arena(f.read())
+    resolve = getattr(tree, "resolve", None)
+    if callable(resolve):
+        resolve()
+    return cast(Dict[Any, Any], json.loads(ryml.emit_json(tree)))
+
+
+def _pyyaml_load(path: Path) -> Dict[Any, Any]:
+    """Fallback loader using pyyaml's C-backed ``CSafeLoader`` when available."""
     with open(path, "r") as f:
         if hasattr(yaml, "CSafeLoader"):
             return cast(Dict[Any, Any], yaml.load(f.read(), Loader=yaml.CSafeLoader))
-        else:
-            return cast(Dict[Any, Any], yaml.safe_load(f.read()))
+        return cast(Dict[Any, Any], yaml.safe_load(f.read()))
+
+
+def try_fast_yaml_load(path: Path) -> Dict[Any, Any]:
+    """
+    Try to load the YAML file using the fastest available parser.
+
+    Order of preference:
+
+    1. ``rapidyaml`` (``ryml``) - C++ binding, ~100x faster than pyyaml on
+       large files. Requires ``pip install rapidyaml``. See
+       :func:`_rapidyaml_load` for caveats (notably: no YAML 1.1 merge-key
+       semantics).
+    2. ``pyyaml.CSafeLoader`` - libyaml-backed, bundled with most pyyaml
+       wheels but not every Python/platform combination.
+    3. ``pyyaml.safe_load`` - pure-Python fallback.
+
+    rapidyaml failures are not swallowed silently: if ``ryml`` is installed
+    but raises while parsing ``path``, the exception propagates so the
+    regression is visible rather than masked by the pyyaml fallback.
+    """
+    if _HAS_RYML:
+        return _rapidyaml_load(path)
+    return _pyyaml_load(path)
diff --git a/python/pyproject.toml b/python/pyproject.toml
index 048210a60..287a2a0d4 100644
--- a/python/pyproject.toml
+++ b/python/pyproject.toml
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ keywords = ["sift", "sift-stack", "siftstack", "sift_py"]
 dependencies = [
     "grpcio~=1.13",
     "PyYAML~=6.0",
+    "rapidyaml~=0.11",
     "pandas>=2.0,<3.1",
     "protobuf>=5.0",
     "pydantic~=2.10",
@@ -319,6 +320,10 @@ ignore_errors = true
 [[tool.mypy.overrides]]
 module = "ruamel"
 ignore_missing_imports = true
+
+[[tool.mypy.overrides]]
+module = "ryml"
+ignore_missing_imports = true
 ignore_errors = true
 
 [[tool.mypy.overrides]]