diff --git a/packages/syft-job/src/syft_job/job_runner.py b/packages/syft-job/src/syft_job/job_runner.py
index ec4bade4294..427e744823a 100644
--- a/packages/syft-job/src/syft_job/job_runner.py
+++ b/packages/syft-job/src/syft_job/job_runner.py
@@ -34,6 +34,15 @@ def get_job_timeout_seconds() -> int:
     )
 
 
+def format_timeout(timeout: float) -> str:
+    """Render a timeout in seconds for humans: whole minutes when exact, else seconds."""
+    if timeout >= 60 and timeout % 60 == 0:
+        minutes = int(timeout // 60)
+        return f"{minutes} minute" if minutes == 1 else f"{minutes} minutes"
+    seconds = f"{timeout:g}"
+    return f"{seconds} second" if seconds == "1" else f"{seconds} seconds"
+
+
 IS_IN_JOB_ENV_VAR = "SYFT_IS_IN_JOB"
 
 # A job runs from a fresh copy of its approved submission in the system temp
@@ -296,7 +305,7 @@ def _execute_job_streaming(self, ref: JobRef, timeout: int, run_dir: Path) -> in
                     _kill_process_tree(process.pid)
                     process.wait()
                     timed_out = True
-                    print(f" Job {job_name} timed out after {timeout // 60} minutes")
+                    print(f" Job {job_name} timed out after {format_timeout(timeout)}")
                     stdout_f.write("\n--- PROCESS TIMED OUT ---\n")
                     stderr_f.write("\n--- PROCESS TIMED OUT ---\n")
                     break
@@ -367,7 +376,7 @@ def _execute_job_captured(self, ref: JobRef, timeout: int, run_dir: Path) -> int
             returncode = -1
             stdout = (stdout or "") + "\n--- PROCESS TIMED OUT ---\n"
             stderr = (stderr or "") + "\n--- PROCESS TIMED OUT ---\n"
-            print(f" Job {job_name} timed out after {timeout // 60} minutes")
+            print(f" Job {job_name} timed out after {format_timeout(timeout)}")
 
         staging_dir = self.manager.staging_dir(ref)
         staging_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
@@ -503,7 +512,7 @@ def _run_approved_job(
             self._report_result(ref, returncode)
 
         except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
-            print(f" Job {job_name} timed out after {timeout // 60} minutes")
+            print(f" Job {job_name} timed out after {format_timeout(timeout)}")
             self._finalize(ref, -1)
         except Exception as e:
             print(f" Error executing job {job_name}: {e}")
diff --git a/packages/syft-job/tests/test_format_timeout.py b/packages/syft-job/tests/test_format_timeout.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..5e13b6b9612
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/syft-job/tests/test_format_timeout.py
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+import pytest
+
+from syft_job.job_runner import format_timeout
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "timeout,expected",
+    [
+        (30, "30 seconds"),
+        (1, "1 second"),
+        (59, "59 seconds"),
+        (60, "1 minute"),
+        (90, "90 seconds"),
+        (120, "2 minutes"),
+        (1800, "30 minutes"),
+        (2.5, "2.5 seconds"),
+    ],
+)
+def test_format_timeout(timeout, expected):
+    assert format_timeout(timeout) == expected
diff --git a/packages/syft-job/tests/test_job_flow.py b/packages/syft-job/tests/test_job_flow.py
index 4ca5b38320f..259ad7f5a88 100644
--- a/packages/syft-job/tests/test_job_flow.py
+++ b/packages/syft-job/tests/test_job_flow.py
@@ -237,7 +237,7 @@ def test_submission_validation(tmp_path: Path):
 """
 
 
-def test_timeout_does_not_hang_runner(tmp_path: Path):
+def test_timeout_does_not_hang_runner(tmp_path: Path, capsys):
     syftbox = tmp_path / "SyftBox"
     syftbox.mkdir()
 
@@ -263,3 +263,4 @@ def test_timeout_does_not_hang_runner(tmp_path: Path):
     # 3s job timeout + venv setup + tree-kill cleanup should fit well under 60s.
     assert elapsed < 60, f"process_approved_jobs took {elapsed:.1f}s — likely hung"
     assert do_client.jobs[0].status == "failed"
+    assert "timed out after 3 seconds" in capsys.readouterr().out