diff --git a/.github/scripts/acquire-build-image b/.github/scripts/acquire-build-image
index 772e3a3aab..ec2ed027b1 100755
--- a/.github/scripts/acquire-build-image
+++ b/.github/scripts/acquire-build-image
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import subprocess
 import sys
 import time
 import unittest
+import base64
 
 REMOTE_BASE_IMAGE_NAME = "public.ecr.aws/w0m4q9l7/github-awslabs-smithy-rs-ci"
 LOCAL_BASE_IMAGE_NAME = "smithy-rs-base-image"
@@ -41,7 +42,8 @@ class Platform(Enum):
 
 # Script context
 class Context:
-    def __init__(self, start_path, script_path, tools_path, user_id, image_tag, allow_local_build, github_actions):
+    def __init__(self, start_path, script_path, tools_path, user_id, image_tag, allow_local_build, github_actions,
+                 encrypted_docker_password, docker_passphrase):
         self.start_path = start_path
         self.script_path = script_path
         self.tools_path = tools_path
@@ -50,6 +52,8 @@ class Context:
         self.image_tag = image_tag
         self.allow_local_build = allow_local_build
         self.github_actions = github_actions
+        self.encrypted_docker_password = encrypted_docker_password
+        self.docker_passphrase = docker_passphrase
 
     @staticmethod
     def default():
@@ -60,6 +64,9 @@ class Context:
         image_tag = get_cmd_output("./docker-image-hash", cwd=script_path)[1]
         allow_local_build = os.getenv("ALLOW_LOCAL_BUILD") != "false"
         github_actions = os.getenv("GITHUB_ACTIONS") == "true"
+        encrypted_docker_password = os.getenv("ENCRYPTED_DOCKER_PASSWORD")
+        docker_passphrase = os.getenv("DOCKER_LOGIN_TOKEN_PASSPHRASE")
+
         print(f"Start path: {start_path}")
         print(f"Script path: {script_path}")
         print(f"Tools path: {tools_path}")
@@ -67,7 +74,9 @@ class Context:
         print(f"Required base image tag: {image_tag}")
         print(f"Allow local build: {allow_local_build}")
         print(f"Running in GitHub Actions: {github_actions}")
-        return Context(start_path, script_path, tools_path, user_id, image_tag, allow_local_build, github_actions)
+        return Context(start_path=start_path, script_path=script_path, tools_path=tools_path, user_id=user_id,
+                       image_tag=image_tag, allow_local_build=allow_local_build, github_actions=github_actions,
+                       encrypted_docker_password=encrypted_docker_password, docker_passphrase=docker_passphrase)
 
 
 def output_contains_any(stdout, stderr, messages):
@@ -76,7 +85,6 @@ def output_contains_any(stdout, stderr, messages):
             return True
     return False
 
-
 # Mockable shell commands
 class Shell:
     # Returns the platform that this script is running on
@@ -91,6 +99,9 @@ class Shell:
         (status, _, _) = get_cmd_output(f"docker inspect \"{image_name}:{image_tag}\"", check=False)
         return status == 0
 
+    def docker_login(self, password):
+        get_cmd_output("docker login --username AWS --password-stdin public.ecr.aws", input=password.encode('utf-8'))
+
     # Pulls the requested `image_name` with `image_tag`. Returns `DockerPullResult`.
     def docker_pull(self, image_name, image_tag):
         (status, stdout, stderr) = get_cmd_output(f"docker pull \"{image_name}:{image_tag}\"", check=False)
@@ -102,7 +113,7 @@ class Shell:
         print("-------------------")
 
         not_found_messages = ["not found: manifest unknown"]
-        throttle_messages = ["toomanyrequests: Rate exceeded", "toomanyrequests: Data limit exceeded"]
+        throttle_messages = ["toomanyrequests:"]
         retryable_messages = ["net/http: TLS handshake timeout"]
         if status == 0:
             return DockerPullResult.SUCCESS
@@ -160,17 +171,39 @@ def run(command, cwd=None):
 
 
 # Returns (status, output) from a shell command
-def get_cmd_output(command, cwd=None, check=True):
+def get_cmd_output(command, cwd=None, check=True, **kwargs):
+    if isinstance(command, str):
+        command = shlex.split(command)
+
     result = subprocess.run(
-        shlex.split(command),
+        command,
         capture_output=True,
-        check=check,
-        cwd=cwd
+        check=False,
+        cwd=cwd,
+        **kwargs
     )
-    return (result.returncode, result.stdout.decode("utf-8").strip(), result.stderr.decode("utf-8").strip())
+    stdout = result.stdout.decode("utf-8").strip()
+    stderr = result.stderr.decode("utf-8").strip()
+    if check and result.returncode != 0:
+        raise Exception(f"failed to run '{command}.\n{stdout}\n{stderr}")
+
+    return result.returncode, stdout, stderr
+
+
+def decrypt_and_login(shell, secret, passphrase):
+    decoded = base64.b64decode(secret, validate=True)
+    if not passphrase:
+        raise Exception("a secret was set but no passphrase was set (or it was empty)")
+    (code, password, err) = get_cmd_output(
+        ["gpg", "--decrypt", "--batch", "--quiet", "--passphrase", passphrase, "--output", "-"],
+        input=decoded)
+    shell.docker_login(password)
+    print("Docker login success!")
 
 
 def acquire_build_image(context=Context.default(), shell=Shell()):
+    if context.encrypted_docker_password is not None:
+        decrypt_and_login(shell, context.encrypted_docker_password, context.docker_passphrase)
     # If the image doesn't already exist locally, then look remotely
     if not shell.docker_image_exists_locally(LOCAL_BASE_IMAGE_NAME, context.image_tag):
         announce("Base image not found locally.")
@@ -211,15 +244,18 @@ def acquire_build_image(context=Context.default(), shell=Shell()):
 
 
 class SelfTest(unittest.TestCase):
-    def test_context(self, allow_local_build=False, github_actions=False):
+    def test_context(self, github_actions=False, allow_local_build=False, encrypted_docker_password=None,
+                     docker_passphrase=None):
         return Context(
             start_path="/tmp/test/start-path",
             script_path="/tmp/test/script-path",
             tools_path="/tmp/test/tools-path",
             user_id="123",
             image_tag="someimagetag",
+            encrypted_docker_password=encrypted_docker_password,
+            docker_passphrase=docker_passphrase,
+            github_actions=github_actions,
             allow_local_build=allow_local_build,
-            github_actions=github_actions
         )
 
     def mock_shell(self):
@@ -231,6 +267,7 @@ class SelfTest(unittest.TestCase):
         shell.docker_pull = MagicMock()
         shell.docker_save = MagicMock()
         shell.docker_tag = MagicMock()
+        shell.docker_login = MagicMock()
         return shell
 
     def test_retry_architecture_mismatch(self):
@@ -247,6 +284,13 @@ class SelfTest(unittest.TestCase):
             )
         )
 
+    def test_docker_login(self):
+        shell = self.mock_shell()
+        acquire_build_image(self.test_context(
+            encrypted_docker_password="jA0ECQMCvYU/JxsX3g/70j0BxbLLW8QaFWWb/DqY9gPhTuEN/xdYVxaoDnV6Fha+lAWdT7xN0qZr5DHPBalLfVvvM1SEXRBI8qnfXyGI",
+            docker_passphrase="secret"), shell)
+        shell.docker_login.assert_called_with("payload")
+
     def test_retry_immediate_success(self):
         shell = self.mock_shell()
         shell.docker_pull.side_effect = [DockerPullResult.SUCCESS]
@@ -374,7 +418,7 @@ class SelfTest(unittest.TestCase):
 
         shell.docker_image_exists_locally.assert_called_once()
         shell.docker_tag.assert_called_with(LOCAL_BASE_IMAGE_NAME, "someimagetag", LOCAL_BASE_IMAGE_NAME, LOCAL_TAG)
-        shell.docker_build_build_image.assert_called_with("123", "/tmp/test/tools-path")
+        shell.docker_build_build_image.assert_called_with("123", "/tmp/test/tools-path/ci-build")
 
     # When:
     #  - the base image doesn't exist locally
@@ -391,10 +435,10 @@ class SelfTest(unittest.TestCase):
 
         self.assertEqual(0, acquire_build_image(context, shell))
         shell.docker_image_exists_locally.assert_called_once()
-        shell.docker_build_base_image.assert_called_with("someimagetag", "/tmp/test/tools-path")
+        shell.docker_build_base_image.assert_called_with("someimagetag", "/tmp/test/tools-path/ci-build")
         shell.docker_save.assert_not_called()
         shell.docker_tag.assert_called_with(LOCAL_BASE_IMAGE_NAME, "someimagetag", LOCAL_BASE_IMAGE_NAME, LOCAL_TAG)
-        shell.docker_build_build_image.assert_called_with("123", "/tmp/test/tools-path")
+        shell.docker_build_build_image.assert_called_with("123", "/tmp/test/tools-path/ci-build")
 
     # When:
     #  - the base image doesn't exist locally
@@ -411,10 +455,10 @@ class SelfTest(unittest.TestCase):
 
         self.assertEqual(0, acquire_build_image(context, shell))
         shell.docker_image_exists_locally.assert_called_once()
-        shell.docker_build_base_image.assert_called_with("someimagetag", "/tmp/test/tools-path")
+        shell.docker_build_base_image.assert_called_with("someimagetag", "/tmp/test/tools-path/ci-build")
         shell.docker_save.assert_not_called()
         shell.docker_tag.assert_called_with(LOCAL_BASE_IMAGE_NAME, "someimagetag", LOCAL_BASE_IMAGE_NAME, LOCAL_TAG)
-        shell.docker_build_build_image.assert_called_with("123", "/tmp/test/tools-path")
+        shell.docker_build_build_image.assert_called_with("123", "/tmp/test/tools-path/ci-build")
 
     # When:
     #  - the base image doesn't exist locally
@@ -431,14 +475,14 @@ class SelfTest(unittest.TestCase):
 
         self.assertEqual(0, acquire_build_image(context, shell))
         shell.docker_image_exists_locally.assert_called_once()
-        shell.docker_build_base_image.assert_called_with("someimagetag", "/tmp/test/tools-path")
+        shell.docker_build_base_image.assert_called_with("someimagetag", "/tmp/test/tools-path/ci-build")
         shell.docker_save.assert_called_with(
             LOCAL_BASE_IMAGE_NAME,
             "someimagetag",
             "/tmp/test/start-path/smithy-rs-base-image"
         )
         shell.docker_tag.assert_called_with(LOCAL_BASE_IMAGE_NAME, "someimagetag", LOCAL_BASE_IMAGE_NAME, LOCAL_TAG)
-        shell.docker_build_build_image.assert_called_with("123", "/tmp/test/tools-path")
+        shell.docker_build_build_image.assert_called_with("123", "/tmp/test/tools-path/ci-build")
 
     # When:
     #  - the base image doesn't exist locally
@@ -478,7 +522,7 @@ class SelfTest(unittest.TestCase):
             call(REMOTE_BASE_IMAGE_NAME, "someimagetag", LOCAL_BASE_IMAGE_NAME, "someimagetag"),
             call(LOCAL_BASE_IMAGE_NAME, "someimagetag", LOCAL_BASE_IMAGE_NAME, LOCAL_TAG)
         ])
-        shell.docker_build_build_image.assert_called_with("123", "/tmp/test/tools-path")
+        shell.docker_build_build_image.assert_called_with("123", "/tmp/test/tools-path/ci-build")
 
 
 def main():
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci-pr.yml b/.github/workflows/ci-pr.yml
index 96c73db029..c1b55a2584 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci-pr.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci-pr.yml
@@ -16,13 +16,45 @@ env:
   ecr_repository: public.ecr.aws/w0m4q9l7/github-awslabs-smithy-rs-ci
 
 jobs:
+  # This job will, if possible, save a docker login password to the job outputs. The token will
+  # be encrypted with the passphrase stored as a GitHub secret. The login password expires after 12h.
+  # The login password is encrypted with the repo secret DOCKER_LOGIN_TOKEN_PASSPHRASE
+  save-docker-login-token:
+    outputs:
+      docker-login-password: ${{ steps.set-token.outputs.docker-login-password }}
+    permissions:
+      id-token: write
+      contents: read
+    continue-on-error: true
+    name: Save a docker login token
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+    - name: Attempt to load a docker login password
+      uses: aws-actions/configure-aws-credentials@v1-node16
+      with:
+        role-to-assume: ${{ secrets.SMITHY_RS_PUBLIC_ECR_PUSH_ROLE_ARN }}
+        role-session-name: GitHubActions
+        aws-region: us-west-2
+    - name: Save the docker login password to the output
+      id: set-token
+      run: |
+        ENCRYPTED_PAYLOAD=$(
+          gpg --symmetric --batch --passphrase "${{ secrets.DOCKER_LOGIN_TOKEN_PASSPHRASE }}" --output - <(aws ecr-public get-login-password --region us-east-1) | base64 -w0
+        )
+        echo "docker-login-password=$ENCRYPTED_PAYLOAD" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+
+
   # This job detects if the PR made changes to build tools. If it did, then it builds a new
   # build Docker image. Otherwise, it downloads a build image from Public ECR. In both cases,
   # it uploads the image as a build artifact for other jobs to download and use.
   acquire-base-image:
     name: Acquire Base Image
+    needs: save-docker-login-token
     if: ${{ github.event.pull_request.head.repo.full_name == 'awslabs/smithy-rs' }}
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    env:
+      ENCRYPTED_DOCKER_PASSWORD: ${{ needs.save-docker-login-token.outputs.docker-login-password }}
+      DOCKER_LOGIN_TOKEN_PASSPHRASE: ${{ secrets.DOCKER_LOGIN_TOKEN_PASSPHRASE }}
     permissions:
       id-token: write
       contents: read
@@ -50,11 +82,16 @@ jobs:
 
   # Run shared CI after the Docker build image has either been rebuilt or found in ECR
   ci:
-    needs: acquire-base-image
+    needs:
+    - save-docker-login-token
+    - acquire-base-image
     if: ${{ github.event.pull_request.head.repo.full_name == 'awslabs/smithy-rs' }}
     uses: ./.github/workflows/ci.yml
     with:
       run_sdk_examples: true
+    secrets:
+      ENCRYPTED_DOCKER_PASSWORD: ${{ needs.save-docker-login-token.outputs.docker-login-password }}
+      DOCKER_LOGIN_TOKEN_PASSPHRASE: ${{ secrets.DOCKER_LOGIN_TOKEN_PASSPHRASE }}
 
   # The PR bot requires a Docker build image, so make it depend on the `acquire-base-image` job.
   pr_bot:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 0b18987b0c..774c4f3c7a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -21,10 +21,18 @@ on:
         required: false
         type: string
         default: ''
+    secrets:
+      # the docker login password for ECR. This is
+      ENCRYPTED_DOCKER_PASSWORD:
+        required: false
+      DOCKER_LOGIN_TOKEN_PASSPHRASE:
+        required: false
 
 env:
   rust_version: 1.62.1
   rust_toolchain_components: clippy,rustfmt
+  ENCRYPTED_DOCKER_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.ENCRYPTED_DOCKER_PASSWORD }}
+  DOCKER_LOGIN_TOKEN_PASSPHRASE: ${{ secrets.DOCKER_LOGIN_TOKEN_PASSPHRASE }}
 
 jobs:
   # The `generate` job runs scripts that produce artifacts that are required by the `test` job,