diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index de9d6ad..e5a4095 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ generate-configuration:
 EXAMPLES := \
     examples/gitopsstacks/minimal.yaml:: \
     examples/gitopsstacks/standard.yaml:: \
+    examples/gitopsstacks/nodepool.yaml:: \
     examples/gitopsstacks/standard.yaml::examples/test/mocks/observed-resources/standard/steps/1/ \
     examples/gitopsstacks/standard.yaml::examples/test/mocks/observed-resources/standard/steps/2/ \
     examples/gitopsstacks/eso.yaml:: \
diff --git a/apis/gitopsstacks/definition.yaml b/apis/gitopsstacks/definition.yaml
index 75796fb..132aff0 100644
--- a/apis/gitopsstacks/definition.yaml
+++ b/apis/gitopsstacks/definition.yaml
@@ -76,6 +76,34 @@ spec:
                     enum:
                     - ProviderConfig
                     - ClusterProviderConfig
+              nodePool:
+                description: Optional dedicated Karpenter NodePool for GitOps workloads. When enabled, ArgoCD pods are scheduled with workload-type=gitops and tolerate gitops=true:NoSchedule.
+                type: object
+                properties:
+                  enabled:
+                    description: Whether to create a dedicated NodePool. Defaults to false.
+                    type: boolean
+                    default: false
+                  name:
+                    description: NodePool name on the target cluster. Defaults to "hops-gitops".
+                    type: string
+                  nodeClassName:
+                    description: EKS Auto Mode NodeClass to reference. Defaults to "hops-default".
+                    type: string
+                  limits:
+                    description: Karpenter NodePool resource limits. Defaults to nodes=10.
+                    type: object
+                    x-kubernetes-preserve-unknown-fields: true
+                  requirements:
+                    description: Karpenter scheduling requirements. Defaults to amd64/linux spot or on-demand nodes.
+                    type: array
+                    items:
+                      type: object
+                      x-kubernetes-preserve-unknown-fields: true
+                  disruption:
+                    description: Karpenter disruption settings. Defaults to WhenEmptyOrUnderutilized after 60s.
+                    type: object
+                    x-kubernetes-preserve-unknown-fields: true
               namespace:
                 description: Namespace for ArgoCD. Defaults to argocd.
                 type: string
diff --git a/examples/gitopsstacks/nodepool.yaml b/examples/gitopsstacks/nodepool.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7710947
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/gitopsstacks/nodepool.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+apiVersion: hops.ops.com.ai/v1alpha1
+kind: GitopsStack
+metadata:
+  name: gitops
+  namespace: example-env
+spec:
+  clusterName: example-cluster
+  labels:
+    team: platform
+  nodePool:
+    enabled: true
+  repository:
+    org: hops-ops
+    name: example-cluster-gitops
diff --git a/functions/render/000-state-init.yaml.gotmpl b/functions/render/000-state-init.yaml.gotmpl
index 61e404a..65cec23 100644
--- a/functions/render/000-state-init.yaml.gotmpl
+++ b/functions/render/000-state-init.yaml.gotmpl
@@ -43,6 +43,36 @@
   "kind" ($ghProviderConfigRef.kind | default "ProviderConfig")
 }}
 
+# ==============================================================================
+# NodePool configuration
+# ==============================================================================
+{{- $nodePoolSpec := $spec.nodePool | default dict }}
+{{- $nodePoolEnabled := false }}
+{{- if hasKey $nodePoolSpec "enabled" }}
+  {{- $nodePoolEnabled = $nodePoolSpec.enabled }}
+{{- end }}
+{{- $nodePoolName := $nodePoolSpec.name | default "hops-gitops" }}
+{{- $nodePoolNodeClassName := $nodePoolSpec.nodeClassName | default "hops-default" }}
+{{- $nodePoolLimits := $nodePoolSpec.limits | default (dict "nodes" 10) }}
+{{- $nodePoolRequirements := $nodePoolSpec.requirements | default (list
+  (dict "key" "karpenter.sh/capacity-type" "operator" "In" "values" (list "spot" "on-demand"))
+  (dict "key" "eks.amazonaws.com/instance-category" "operator" "In" "values" (list "c" "m" "r"))
+  (dict "key" "eks.amazonaws.com/instance-generation" "operator" "Gt" "values" (list "4"))
+  (dict "key" "eks.amazonaws.com/instance-memory" "operator" "Gt" "values" (list "7999"))
+  (dict "key" "eks.amazonaws.com/instance-cpu" "operator" "Gt" "values" (list "1"))
+  (dict "key" "kubernetes.io/arch" "operator" "In" "values" (list "amd64"))
+  (dict "key" "kubernetes.io/os" "operator" "In" "values" (list "linux"))
+) }}
+{{- $nodePoolDisruption := $nodePoolSpec.disruption | default (dict "consolidationPolicy" "WhenEmptyOrUnderutilized" "consolidateAfter" "60s") }}
+{{- $nodePoolTaintKey := "gitops" }}
+{{- $nodePoolTaintValue := "true" }}
+{{- $nodePoolNodeSelector := dict }}
+{{- $nodePoolTolerations := list }}
+{{- if $nodePoolEnabled }}
+  {{- $nodePoolNodeSelector = dict "workload-type" "gitops" }}
+  {{- $nodePoolTolerations = list (dict "key" $nodePoolTaintKey "operator" "Equal" "value" $nodePoolTaintValue "effect" "NoSchedule") }}
+{{- end }}
+
 # ==============================================================================
 # ArgoCD configuration
 # ==============================================================================
@@ -84,6 +114,18 @@
   "helmProviderConfigRef" $helmProviderConfigRef
   "kubernetesProviderConfigRef" $k8sProviderConfigRef
   "githubProviderConfigRef" $ghProviderConfigRef
+  "nodePool" (dict
+    "enabled" $nodePoolEnabled
+    "name" $nodePoolName
+    "nodeClassName" $nodePoolNodeClassName
+    "limits" $nodePoolLimits
+    "requirements" $nodePoolRequirements
+    "disruption" $nodePoolDisruption
+    "taintKey" $nodePoolTaintKey
+    "taintValue" $nodePoolTaintValue
+    "nodeSelector" $nodePoolNodeSelector
+    "tolerations" $nodePoolTolerations
+  )
   "argocd" (dict
     "name" ($argocdSpec.name | default "argocd")
     "namespace" ($argocdSpec.namespace | default $namespace)
diff --git a/functions/render/155-nodepool.yaml.gotmpl b/functions/render/155-nodepool.yaml.gotmpl
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cc6dfce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/functions/render/155-nodepool.yaml.gotmpl
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+# code: language=yaml
+#
+# Optional Karpenter NodePool for GitOps workloads.
+#
+
+{{- if $state.nodePool.enabled }}
+---
+apiVersion: kubernetes.m.crossplane.io/v1alpha1
+kind: Object
+metadata:
+  name: {{ $state.name }}-nodepool-gitops
+  annotations:
+    {{ setResourceNameAnnotation "nodepool-gitops" }}
+  labels: {{ $state.labels | toJson }}
+spec:
+  managementPolicies: {{ $state.managementPolicies | toJson }}
+  forProvider:
+    manifest:
+      apiVersion: karpenter.sh/v1
+      kind: NodePool
+      metadata:
+        name: {{ $state.nodePool.name }}
+      spec:
+        template:
+          metadata:
+            labels:
+              workload-type: gitops
+          spec:
+            nodeClassRef:
+              group: eks.amazonaws.com
+              kind: NodeClass
+              name: {{ $state.nodePool.nodeClassName }}
+            taints:
+            - key: {{ $state.nodePool.taintKey }}
+              value: {{ $state.nodePool.taintValue | quote }}
+              effect: NoSchedule
+            requirements: {{ $state.nodePool.requirements | toJson }}
+        limits: {{ $state.nodePool.limits | toJson }}
+        disruption: {{ $state.nodePool.disruption | toJson }}
+  providerConfigRef:
+    name: {{ $state.kubernetesProviderConfigRef.name }}
+    kind: {{ $state.kubernetesProviderConfigRef.kind }}
+
+---
+apiVersion: protection.crossplane.io/v1beta1
+kind: Usage
+metadata:
+  name: {{ $state.name }}-delete-argocd-before-nodepool
+  annotations:
+    {{ setResourceNameAnnotation "usage-argocd-before-nodepool" }}
+  labels: {{ $state.labels | toJson }}
+spec:
+  replayDeletion: true
+  of:
+    apiVersion: kubernetes.m.crossplane.io/v1alpha1
+    kind: Object
+    resourceRef:
+      name: {{ $state.name }}-nodepool-gitops
+  by:
+    apiVersion: helm.m.crossplane.io/v1beta1
+    kind: Release
+    resourceRef:
+      name: {{ $state.argocd.name }}
+{{- end }}
diff --git a/functions/render/200-helm-release-argocd.yaml.gotmpl b/functions/render/200-helm-release-argocd.yaml.gotmpl
index e929d75..88e955d 100644
--- a/functions/render/200-helm-release-argocd.yaml.gotmpl
+++ b/functions/render/200-helm-release-argocd.yaml.gotmpl
@@ -35,37 +35,42 @@ spec:
          CPU request only, no limit so it can burst. The rest are Burstable
          restart-cheap controllers/webhooks/proxies.
          See references/karpenter-resource-best-practices §7. */}}
-    {{- /* application-controller P95 observed at 1047Mi on pat-local — needs
-         real headroom beyond the chart's "small cluster" sizing. 1.5Gi covers
-         the cluster-wide state cache for our app count with margin. */}}
+    {{- /* application-controller is sized from current VPA/Goldilocks
+         recommendations on pat-local. */}}
     {{- $controllerResources := dict
-      "requests" (dict "cpu" "250m" "memory" "1536Mi")
-      "limits" (dict "memory" "1536Mi")
+      "requests" (dict "cpu" "548m" "memory" "2062Mi")
+      "limits" (dict "memory" "2062Mi")
     }}
     {{- $repoServerResources := dict
-      "requests" (dict "cpu" "100m" "memory" "256Mi")
+      "requests" (dict "cpu" "15m" "memory" "100Mi")
       "limits" (dict "cpu" "500m" "memory" "512Mi")
     }}
     {{- $serverResources := dict
-      "requests" (dict "cpu" "50m" "memory" "128Mi")
-      "limits" (dict "cpu" "200m" "memory" "256Mi")
+      "requests" (dict "cpu" "15m" "memory" "100Mi")
+      "limits" (dict "cpu" "250m" "memory" "256Mi")
     }}
     {{- $smallControllerResources := dict
-      "requests" (dict "cpu" "25m" "memory" "64Mi")
-      "limits" (dict "cpu" "100m" "memory" "128Mi")
+      "requests" (dict "cpu" "15m" "memory" "100Mi")
+      "limits" (dict "cpu" "100m" "memory" "256Mi")
     }}
     {{- $redisResources := dict
-      "requests" (dict "cpu" "50m" "memory" "64Mi")
-      "limits" (dict "cpu" "100m" "memory" "128Mi")
+      "requests" (dict "cpu" "15m" "memory" "100Mi")
+      "limits" (dict "cpu" "100m" "memory" "256Mi")
     }}
+    {{- $globalValues := dict
+      "monitoring" (dict
+        "enabled" true
+        "serviceMonitor" (dict "enabled" true)
+      )
+      "nodeSelector" (dict "kubernetes.io/os" "linux")
+    }}
+    {{- if $state.nodePool.enabled }}
+      {{- $_ := set $globalValues "nodeSelector" (mergeOverwrite (dict "kubernetes.io/os" "linux") $state.nodePool.nodeSelector) }}
+      {{- $_ := set $globalValues "tolerations" $state.nodePool.tolerations }}
+    {{- end }}
     {{- $chartDefaults := dict
       "crds" (dict "install" true)
-      "global" (dict
-        "monitoring" (dict
-          "enabled" true
-          "serviceMonitor" (dict "enabled" true)
-        )
-      )
+      "global" $globalValues
       "controller" (dict "resources" $controllerResources)
       "repoServer" (dict "resources" $repoServerResources)
       "server" (dict "resources" $serverResources)
diff --git a/tests/test-render/main.k b/tests/test-render/main.k
index 81c01e3..52fbe51 100644
--- a/tests/test-render/main.k
+++ b/tests/test-render/main.k
@@ -755,6 +755,81 @@ _items = [
             ]
         }
     }
+
+    # ==========================================================================
+    # Test 18: nodePool enables Argo CD placement and renders a Karpenter NodePool
+    # ==========================================================================
+    metav1alpha1.CompositionTest {
+        metadata.name = "nodepool-adds-argocd-placement-and-resources"
+        spec = {
+            compositionPath = "apis/gitopsstacks/composition.yaml"
+            xrdPath = "apis/gitopsstacks/definition.yaml"
+            timeoutSeconds = 60
+            validate = False
+            xr = stacksv1alpha1.GitopsStack {
+                metadata.name = "nodepool-test"
+                spec = {
+                    clusterName = "test-cluster"
+                    repository.org = "hops-ops"
+                    nodePool.enabled = True
+                }
+            }
+            assertResources = [
+                {
+                    apiVersion = "helm.m.crossplane.io/v1beta1"
+                    kind = "Release"
+                    metadata.name = "argocd"
+                    spec.forProvider.values = {
+                        global = {
+                            nodeSelector = {
+                                "kubernetes.io/os" = "linux"
+                                "workload-type" = "gitops"
+                            }
+                            tolerations = [
+                                {
+                                    key = "gitops"
+                                    operator = "Equal"
+                                    value = "true"
+                                    effect = "NoSchedule"
+                                }
+                            ]
+                        }
+                        controller.resources.requests = {
+                            cpu = "548m"
+                            memory = "2062Mi"
+                        }
+                        repoServer.resources.requests = {
+                            cpu = "15m"
+                            memory = "100Mi"
+                        }
+                    }
+                }
+                {
+                    apiVersion = "kubernetes.m.crossplane.io/v1alpha1"
+                    kind = "Object"
+                    metadata.name = "nodepool-test-nodepool-gitops"
+                    spec.forProvider.manifest = {
+                        apiVersion = "karpenter.sh/v1"
+                        kind = "NodePool"
+                        metadata.name = "hops-gitops"
+                        spec.template.metadata.labels = {"workload-type" = "gitops"}
+                        spec.template.spec.taints = [
+                            {
+                                key = "gitops"
+                                value = "true"
+                                effect = "NoSchedule"
+                            }
+                        ]
+                    }
+                }
+                {
+                    apiVersion = "protection.crossplane.io/v1beta1"
+                    kind = "Usage"
+                    metadata.name = "nodepool-test-delete-argocd-before-nodepool"
+                }
+            ]
+        }
+    }
 ]
 
 items = _items