diff --git a/deploy/crd.yaml b/deploy/crd.yaml
index 75cbf276..3349e961 100644
--- a/deploy/crd.yaml
+++ b/deploy/crd.yaml
@@ -131,6 +131,8 @@ spec:
             maxCheckpointRestoreAgeSeconds:
               type: integer
               minimum: 1
+            fallbackWithoutState:
+              type: boolean
             jobManagerConfig:
               type: object
               properties:
diff --git a/docs/crd.md b/docs/crd.md
index afecaf74..4b32e747 100644
--- a/docs/crd.md
+++ b/docs/crd.md
@@ -172,3 +172,7 @@ Below is the list of fields in the custom resource and their description:
   * **tearDownVersionHash** `type:string`
     Used **only** with the BlueGreen deployment mode. This is set typically once a FlinkApplication successfully transitions to the `DualRunning` phase.
     Once set, the application version corresponding to the hash is torn down. On successful teardown, the FlinkApplication transitions to a `Running` phase.
+
+  * **fallbackWithoutState** `type:bool`
+    Can be set to true to attempt to continue to submit a job without a savepoint in the case where
+    a savepoint cannot be taken and there are no external checkpoints to recover from.
diff --git a/integ/README.md b/integ/README.md
index 09d43303..7f43318e 100644
--- a/integ/README.md
+++ b/integ/README.md
@@ -21,14 +21,7 @@ By default the tests create, use, and clean up the namespace
 `flinkoperatortest`.
 
 These tests use a sample Flink job [operator-test-app](/integ/operator-test-app/). The
-tests currently use two images built from here:
-
-* `lyft/operator-test-app:b1b3cb8e8f98bd41f44f9c89f8462ce255e0d13f.1`
-* `lyft/operator-test-app:b1b3cb8e8f98bd41f44f9c89f8462ce255e0d13f.2`
-
-Those images are available on our private Dockerhub registry, and you
-will either need to pull them locally or give Kubernetes access to the
-registry.
+tests currently use two images built before the integration test is run.
 
 ### Setup
 
@@ -123,4 +116,3 @@ Helpers:
   `kubectl patch FlinkApplication invalidcanceljob -p '{"metadata":{"finalizers":[]}}' --type=merge`
 - Set default namespace
   `kubectl config set-context --current --namespace=flinkoperatortest`
-
diff --git a/integ/blue_green_deployment_test.go b/integ/blue_green_deployment_test.go
index c29855a2..25aaf7c7 100644
--- a/integ/blue_green_deployment_test.go
+++ b/integ/blue_green_deployment_test.go
@@ -10,7 +10,6 @@ import (
 )
 
 func WaitForUpdate(c *C, s *IntegSuite, name string, updateFn func(app *v1beta1.FlinkApplication), phase v1beta1.FlinkApplicationPhase, failurePhase v1beta1.FlinkApplicationPhase) *v1beta1.FlinkApplication {
-
 	// update with new image.
 	app, err := s.Util.Update(name, updateFn)
 	c.Assert(err, IsNil)
diff --git a/integ/checkpoint_failure_test.go b/integ/checkpoint_failure_test.go
index 5004bbf0..f498edbe 100644
--- a/integ/checkpoint_failure_test.go
+++ b/integ/checkpoint_failure_test.go
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/lyft/flinkk8soperator/pkg/apis/app/v1beta1"
 	"github.com/prometheus/common/log"
 	. "gopkg.in/check.v1"
+	coreV1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
 	v1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
 )
 
@@ -19,12 +20,12 @@ func failingJobTest(s *IntegSuite, c *C, testName string, causeFailure func()) {
 
 	config.ObjectMeta.Labels["integTest"] = testName
 
-	c.Assert(s.Util.CreateFlinkApplication(config), IsNil,
-		Commentf("Failed to create flink application"))
-
 	// Cause it to fail
 	causeFailure()
 
+	c.Assert(s.Util.CreateFlinkApplication(config), IsNil,
+		Commentf("Failed to create flink application"))
+
 	c.Assert(s.Util.WaitForPhase(config.Name, v1beta1.FlinkApplicationRunning, v1beta1.FlinkApplicationDeployFailed), IsNil)
 
 	// wait a bit for it to start failing
@@ -63,25 +64,115 @@ func failingJobTest(s *IntegSuite, c *C, testName string, causeFailure func()) {
 	log.Info("All pods torn down")
 }
 
+// Tests that we correctly handle updating a job with a checkpoint timeout
+func (s *IntegSuite) TestCheckpointTimeout(c *C) {
+	log.Info("Starting test TestCheckpointTimeout")
+
+	failingJobTest(s, c, "checkpointtimeout", func() {
+		// cause checkpoints to take 120 seconds
+		err := s.Util.ExecuteCommand("minikube", "ssh", "echo 120000 >> /tmp/checkpoints/checkpoint_delay && sudo chmod 0644 /tmp/checkpoints/checkpoint_delay")
+		c.Assert(err, IsNil)
+	})
+	log.Info("Completed test TestCheckpointTimeout")
+}
+
+func appUpdate(app *v1beta1.FlinkApplication) *v1beta1.FlinkApplication {
+	app.Spec.Image = NewImage
+	skipFailureEnvVar := coreV1.EnvVar{Name: "SKIP_INDUCED_FAILURE", Value: "true"}
+	app.Spec.JobManagerConfig.EnvConfig.Env = append(app.Spec.JobManagerConfig.EnvConfig.Env, skipFailureEnvVar)
+	app.Spec.TaskManagerConfig.EnvConfig.Env = append(app.Spec.TaskManagerConfig.EnvConfig.Env, skipFailureEnvVar)
+	var maxCheckpointRestoreAgeSeconds int32 = 1
+	app.Spec.MaxCheckpointRestoreAgeSeconds = &maxCheckpointRestoreAgeSeconds
+	return app
+}
+
+func failingTaskTest(s *IntegSuite, c *C, testName string, fallbackWithoutState bool, deployShouldFail bool, causeFailure func()) {
+	config, err := s.Util.ReadFlinkApplication("test_app.yaml")
+	c.Assert(err, IsNil, Commentf("Failed to read test app yaml"))
+	config.Name = testName + "job"
+	config.Spec.DeleteMode = v1beta1.DeleteModeForceCancel
+	config.Spec.FallbackWithoutState = fallbackWithoutState
+	config.ObjectMeta.Labels["integTest"] = testName
+
+	// Avoid external checkpoints to be used in recovery stage during update
+	err = s.Util.ExecuteCommand("minikube", "ssh", "echo 120000 >> /tmp/checkpoints/checkpoint_delay && sudo chmod 0644 /tmp/checkpoints/checkpoint_delay")
+	c.Assert(err, IsNil)
+
+	c.Assert(s.Util.CreateFlinkApplication(config), IsNil,
+		Commentf("Failed to create flink application"))
+
+	c.Assert(s.Util.WaitForPhase(config.Name, v1beta1.FlinkApplicationRunning, v1beta1.FlinkApplicationDeployFailed), IsNil)
+
+	// Cause it to fail
+	causeFailure()
+
+	// wait a bit for it to start failing
+	time.Sleep(5 * time.Second)
+
+	// get app details
+	app, err := s.Util.GetFlinkApplication(config.Name)
+	c.Assert(err, IsNil)
+
+	if deployShouldFail {
+		// Try to update it
+		app, err := s.Util.GetFlinkApplication(config.Name)
+		c.Assert(err, IsNil)
+		app = appUpdate(app)
+		_, err = s.Util.FlinkApps().Update(app)
+		c.Assert(err, IsNil)
+
+		// because the checkpoint will fail, the app should move to deploy failed
+		c.Assert(s.Util.WaitForPhase(config.Name, v1beta1.FlinkApplicationDeployFailed), IsNil)
+
+		// And the job should not have been updated
+		newApp, err := s.Util.GetFlinkApplication(config.Name)
+		c.Assert(err, IsNil)
+		c.Assert(newApp.Status.JobStatus.JobID, Equals, app.Status.JobStatus.JobID)
+	} else {
+		// Try to update it with app that does not fail on checkpoint
+		newApp := WaitUpdateAndValidate(c, s, config.Name, func(app *v1beta1.FlinkApplication) {
+			appUpdate(app)
+		}, v1beta1.FlinkApplicationDeployFailed)
+
+		// Check job updated and started without savepointPath
+		c.Assert(newApp.Status.JobStatus.JobID, Not(Equals), app.Status.JobStatus.JobID)
+		c.Assert(newApp.Spec.SavepointPath, Equals, "")
+
+		// Check new app has no failures
+		endpoint := fmt.Sprintf("jobs/%s", newApp.Status.JobStatus.JobID)
+		_, err = s.Util.FlinkAPIGet(newApp, endpoint)
+		c.Assert(err, IsNil)
+	}
+
+	// delete the application and ensure everything is cleaned up successfully
+	c.Assert(s.Util.FlinkApps().Delete(app.Name, &v1.DeleteOptions{}), IsNil)
+
+	for {
+		pods, err := s.Util.KubeClient.CoreV1().Pods(s.Util.Namespace.Name).
+			List(v1.ListOptions{LabelSelector: "integTest=" + testName})
+		c.Assert(err, IsNil)
+		if len(pods.Items) == 0 {
+			break
+		}
+	}
+	log.Info("All pods torn down")
+}
+
 // Tests that we correctly handle updating a job with task failures
 func (s *IntegSuite) TestJobWithTaskFailures(c *C) {
 	log.Info("Starting test TestJobWithTaskFailures")
-
-	failingJobTest(s, c, "taskfailure", func() {
+	failingTaskTest(s, c, "taskfailure", false, true, func() {
 		err := s.Util.ExecuteCommand("minikube", "ssh", "touch /tmp/checkpoints/fail && chmod 0644 /tmp/checkpoints/fail")
 		c.Assert(err, IsNil)
 	})
 	log.Info("Completed test TestJobWithTaskFailures")
 }
 
-// Tests that we correctly handle updating a job with a checkpoint timeout
-func (s *IntegSuite) TestCheckpointTimeout(c *C) {
-	log.Info("Starting test TestCheckpointTimeout")
-
-	failingJobTest(s, c, "checkpointtimeout", func() {
-		// cause checkpoints to take 120 seconds
-		err := s.Util.ExecuteCommand("minikube", "ssh", "echo 120000 >> /tmp/checkpoints/checkpoint_delay && sudo chmod 0644 /tmp/checkpoints/checkpoint_delay")
+func (s *IntegSuite) TestSavepointCheckpointFailureFallback(c *C) {
+	log.Info("Starting test TestSavepointCheckpointFailureFallback")
+	failingTaskTest(s, c, "recoveryfallback", true, false, func() {
+		err := s.Util.ExecuteCommand("minikube", "ssh", "touch /tmp/checkpoints/fail && chmod 0644 /tmp/checkpoints/fail")
 		c.Assert(err, IsNil)
 	})
-	log.Info("Completed test TestCheckpointTimeout")
+	log.Info("Completed test TestSavepointCheckpointFailureFallback")
 }
diff --git a/integ/main_test.go b/integ/main_test.go
index 4a3ce8c9..9e573656 100644
--- a/integ/main_test.go
+++ b/integ/main_test.go
@@ -77,12 +77,13 @@ func (s *IntegSuite) SetUpSuite(c *C) {
 
 	if runDirect {
 		config := controllerConfig.Config{
-			LimitNamespace: namespace,
-			UseProxy:       true,
-			ResyncPeriod:   flyteConfig.Duration{Duration: 3 * time.Second},
-			MaxErrDuration: flyteConfig.Duration{Duration: 60 * time.Second},
-			MetricsPrefix:  "flinkk8soperator",
-			ProxyPort:      flyteConfig.Port{Port: 8001},
+			LimitNamespace:        namespace,
+			UseProxy:              true,
+			ResyncPeriod:          flyteConfig.Duration{Duration: 3 * time.Second},
+			MaxErrDuration:        flyteConfig.Duration{Duration: 6000 * time.Second},
+			FlinkJobVertexTimeout: flyteConfig.Duration{Duration: 3 * time.Minute},
+			MetricsPrefix:         "flinkk8soperator",
+			ProxyPort:             flyteConfig.Port{Port: 8001},
 		}
 
 		log.Info("Running operator directly")
diff --git a/integ/operator-test-app/Dockerfile b/integ/operator-test-app/Dockerfile
index e42031b9..2182461c 100644
--- a/integ/operator-test-app/Dockerfile
+++ b/integ/operator-test-app/Dockerfile
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ ENV PATH=$FLINK_HOME/bin:$HADOOP_HOME/bin:$MAVEN_HOME/bin:$PATH
 COPY . /code
 
 # Configure Flink version
-ENV FLINK_VERSION=1.11.6 \
+ENV FLINK_VERSION=1.8.1 \
     HADOOP_SCALA_VARIANT=scala_2.12
 
 # Install dependencies
diff --git a/integ/operator-test-app/pom.xml b/integ/operator-test-app/pom.xml
index be20aac8..68e0e141 100644
--- a/integ/operator-test-app/pom.xml
+++ b/integ/operator-test-app/pom.xml
@@ -19,12 +19,25 @@
     <dependency>
       <groupId>org.apache.flink</groupId>
       <artifactId>flink-java</artifactId>
-      <version>1.11.6</version>
+      <version>1.8.1</version>
     </dependency>
     <dependency>
       <groupId>org.apache.flink</groupId>
       <artifactId>flink-streaming-java_2.11</artifactId>
-      <version>1.11.6</version>
+      <version>1.8.1</version>
+    </dependency>
+    <dependency>
+      <groupId>org.apache.flink</groupId>
+      <artifactId>flink-streaming-scala_2.11</artifactId>
+      <version>1.8.1</version>
+      <scope>provided</scope>
+    </dependency>
+    <!-- https://mvnrepository.com/artifact/org.apache.flink/flink-clients -->
+    <dependency>
+      <groupId>org.apache.flink</groupId>
+      <artifactId>flink-clients_2.11</artifactId>
+      <version>1.8.1</version>
+      <scope>provided</scope>
     </dependency>
   </dependencies>
 
diff --git a/integ/operator-test-app/src/main/java/com/lyft/OperatorTestApp.java b/integ/operator-test-app/src/main/java/com/lyft/OperatorTestApp.java
index c423aff8..e1f3a413 100644
--- a/integ/operator-test-app/src/main/java/com/lyft/OperatorTestApp.java
+++ b/integ/operator-test-app/src/main/java/com/lyft/OperatorTestApp.java
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ public static class MaybeFail implements MapFunction<Long, Long> {
 
     @Override
     public Long map(Long x) throws Exception {
-      if (new File("/checkpoints/fail").exists()) {
+      if (new File("/checkpoints/fail").exists() && !Settings.skipInducedFailure()) {
         throw new RuntimeException("FAILED!!!");
       }
 
diff --git a/integ/operator-test-app/src/main/java/com/lyft/Settings.java b/integ/operator-test-app/src/main/java/com/lyft/Settings.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..16a6d9a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/integ/operator-test-app/src/main/java/com/lyft/Settings.java
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+package com.lyft;
+
+public class Settings {
+  private static final String SKIP_INDUCED_FAILURE = "SKIP_INDUCED_FAILURE";
+
+  public static boolean skipInducedFailure() {
+    return System.getenv(SKIP_INDUCED_FAILURE) != null && System.getenv(SKIP_INDUCED_FAILURE).equals("true");
+  }
+}
diff --git a/integ/setup.sh b/integ/setup.sh
index 5871435b..b2c06a86 100755
--- a/integ/setup.sh
+++ b/integ/setup.sh
@@ -3,21 +3,15 @@
 # Test App Setup
 
 # TODO: upgrade flink test app from 1.8
-#cd integ/operator-test-app
-#export TEST_APP_IMAGE=operator-test-app:$(git rev-parse HEAD)
-#docker build -t $TEST_APP_IMAGE .
-#docker tag $TEST_APP_IMAGE flink-test-app:local.1
-#docker tag $TEST_APP_IMAGE flink-test-app:local.2
-#minikube image load flink-test-app:local.1
-#minikube image load flink-test-app:local.2
-#
-#cd ../../
-
-docker pull lyft/operator-test-app:b1b3cb8e8f98bd41f44f9c89f8462ce255e0d13f.1
-docker pull lyft/operator-test-app:b1b3cb8e8f98bd41f44f9c89f8462ce255e0d13f.2
-minikube image load lyft/operator-test-app:b1b3cb8e8f98bd41f44f9c89f8462ce255e0d13f.1
-minikube image load lyft/operator-test-app:b1b3cb8e8f98bd41f44f9c89f8462ce255e0d13f.2
-
+cd integ/operator-test-app
+export TEST_APP_IMAGE=operator-test-app:$(git rev-parse HEAD)
+docker build -t $TEST_APP_IMAGE .
+docker tag $TEST_APP_IMAGE operator-test-app:local.1
+docker tag $TEST_APP_IMAGE operator-test-app:local.2
+minikube image load operator-test-app:local.1
+minikube image load operator-test-app:local.2
+
+cd ../../
 
 # Operator Setup
 
diff --git a/integ/simple_test.go b/integ/simple_test.go
index 553ea978..bc9346b2 100644
--- a/integ/simple_test.go
+++ b/integ/simple_test.go
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ import (
 	v1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
 )
 
-const NewImage = "lyft/operator-test-app:b1b3cb8e8f98bd41f44f9c89f8462ce255e0d13f.2"
+const NewImage = "operator-test-app:local.2"
 
 func updateAndValidate(c *C, s *IntegSuite, name string, updateFn func(app *v1beta1.FlinkApplication), failurePhase v1beta1.FlinkApplicationPhase) *v1beta1.FlinkApplication {
 	app, err := s.Util.Update(name, updateFn)
diff --git a/integ/test_app.yaml b/integ/test_app.yaml
index 03189bf3..c190b205 100644
--- a/integ/test_app.yaml
+++ b/integ/test_app.yaml
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ metadata:
   labels:
     environment: development
 spec:
-  image: lyft/operator-test-app:b1b3cb8e8f98bd41f44f9c89f8462ce255e0d13f.1
+  image: operator-test-app:local.1
   imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent
   imagePullSecrets:
     - name: dockerhub
diff --git a/pkg/apis/app/v1beta1/types.go b/pkg/apis/app/v1beta1/types.go
index 0b3edf66..ec4d4aac 100644
--- a/pkg/apis/app/v1beta1/types.go
+++ b/pkg/apis/app/v1beta1/types.go
@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@ type FlinkApplicationSpec struct {
 	ForceRollback                  bool                `json:"forceRollback"`
 	MaxCheckpointRestoreAgeSeconds *int32              `json:"maxCheckpointRestoreAgeSeconds,omitempty"`
 	TearDownVersionHash            string              `json:"tearDownVersionHash,omitempty"`
+	FallbackWithoutState           bool                `json:"fallbackWithoutState"`
 }
 
 type FlinkConfig map[string]interface{}
diff --git a/pkg/controller/flinkapplication/flink_state_machine.go b/pkg/controller/flinkapplication/flink_state_machine.go
index 54d3e251..ae288bf7 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/flinkapplication/flink_state_machine.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/flinkapplication/flink_state_machine.go
@@ -193,7 +193,6 @@ func (s *FlinkStateMachine) handle(ctx context.Context, application *v1beta1.Fli
 			updateApplication, appErr = s.handleApplicationDeleting(ctx, application)
 		case v1beta1.FlinkApplicationDualRunning:
 			updateApplication, appErr = s.handleDualRunning(ctx, application)
-
 		}
 
 		if !v1beta1.IsRunningPhase(appPhase) {
@@ -587,17 +586,30 @@ func (s *FlinkStateMachine) handleApplicationRecovering(ctx context.Context, app
 	//       (but if the JM is unavailable, our options there might be limited)
 
 	// try to find an externalized checkpoint
+	failDeploy := false
 	path, err := s.flinkController.FindExternalizedCheckpoint(ctx, app, app.Status.DeployHash)
 	if err != nil {
 		s.flinkController.LogEvent(ctx, app, corev1.EventTypeWarning, "RecoveryFailed",
-			"Failed to get externalized checkpoint config, could not recover. "+
-				"Manual intervention is needed.")
-		return s.deployFailed(app)
+			"Failed to get externalized checkpoint config.")
+		failDeploy = true
 	} else if path == "" {
 		s.flinkController.LogEvent(ctx, app, corev1.EventTypeWarning, "RecoveryFailed",
-			"No externalized checkpoint found, could not recover. Make sure that "+
-				"externalized checkpoints are enabled in your job's checkpoint configuration. Manual intervention "+
-				"is needed to recover.")
+			"No externalized checkpoint found. Make sure that "+
+				"externalized checkpoints are enabled in your job's checkpoint configuration.")
+		failDeploy = true
+	}
+	// try to continue without state if configured else fail
+	if failDeploy && app.Spec.FallbackWithoutState {
+		s.flinkController.LogEvent(ctx, app, corev1.EventTypeWarning, "RestoringWithoutExternalizedCheckpoint",
+			"FallbackWithoutState enabled. Proceeding without a checkpoint or savepoint.")
+		s.flinkController.UpdateLatestJobID(ctx, app, "")
+		s.updateApplicationPhase(app, v1beta1.FlinkApplicationSubmittingJob)
+		return statusChanged, nil
+	}
+
+	if failDeploy {
+		s.flinkController.LogEvent(ctx, app, corev1.EventTypeWarning, "RecoveryFailed",
+			"Could not recover. Manual intervention is needed to recover.")
 		return s.deployFailed(app)
 	}
 
diff --git a/pkg/controller/flinkapplication/flink_state_machine_test.go b/pkg/controller/flinkapplication/flink_state_machine_test.go
index 4e962ea7..500609be 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/flinkapplication/flink_state_machine_test.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/flinkapplication/flink_state_machine_test.go
@@ -406,6 +406,40 @@ func TestRestoreFromExternalizedCheckpoint(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Nil(t, err)
 }
 
+func TestRestoreWithFallbackWithoutState(t *testing.T) {
+	updateInvoked := false
+
+	app := v1beta1.FlinkApplication{
+		Spec: v1beta1.FlinkApplicationSpec{
+			FallbackWithoutState: true,
+		},
+		Status: v1beta1.FlinkApplicationStatus{
+			Phase:              v1beta1.FlinkApplicationRecovering,
+			DeployHash:         "blah",
+			SavepointTriggerID: "trigger",
+		},
+	}
+
+	stateMachineForTest := getTestStateMachine()
+	mockFlinkController := stateMachineForTest.flinkController.(*mock.FlinkController)
+
+	mockFlinkController.FindExternalizedCheckpointFunc = func(ctx context.Context, application *v1beta1.FlinkApplication, hash string) (string, error) {
+		return "", nil
+	}
+
+	mockK8Cluster := stateMachineForTest.k8Cluster.(*k8mock.K8Cluster)
+	mockK8Cluster.UpdateStatusFunc = func(ctx context.Context, object runtime.Object) error {
+		application := object.(*v1beta1.FlinkApplication)
+		assert.Equal(t, "", application.Status.SavepointPath)
+		assert.Equal(t, v1beta1.FlinkApplicationSubmittingJob, application.Status.Phase)
+		updateInvoked = true
+		return nil
+	}
+	err := stateMachineForTest.Handle(context.Background(), &app)
+	assert.True(t, updateInvoked)
+	assert.Nil(t, err)
+}
+
 func TestSubmittingToRunning(t *testing.T) {
 	jobID := "j1"