diff --git a/packages/climate-ref/src/climate_ref/executor/hpc.py b/packages/climate-ref/src/climate_ref/executor/hpc.py
index 8d9563bc0..458f3983a 100644
--- a/packages/climate-ref/src/climate_ref/executor/hpc.py
+++ b/packages/climate-ref/src/climate_ref/executor/hpc.py
@@ -20,8 +20,10 @@
 
 import os
 import re
+import resource
 import time
-from typing import Annotated, Any, Literal
+from collections.abc import Callable
+from typing import Annotated, Any, Literal, TypeVar, cast
 
 import parsl
 from loguru import logger
@@ -44,6 +46,8 @@
 from .local import ExecutionFuture, process_result
 from .pbs_scheduler import SmartPBSProvider
 
+F = TypeVar("F", bound=Callable[..., Any])
+
 
 class SlurmConfig(BaseModel):
     """Slurm Configurations"""
@@ -61,7 +65,7 @@ class SlurmConfig(BaseModel):
     validation: StrictBool = False
     walltime: str = "00:30:00"
     scheduler_options: str = ""
-    retries: Annotated[int, Field(strict=True, ge=1, le=3)] = 2
+    retries: Annotated[int, Field(strict=True, ge=0, le=3)] = 2
     max_blocks: Annotated[int, Field(strict=True, ge=1)] = 1  # one block mean one job?
     worker_init: str = ""
     overrides: str = ""
@@ -111,7 +115,23 @@ def _validate_walltime(cls, v: str) -> str:
         return v
 
 
+def with_memory_limit(limit_gb: float) -> Callable[[F], F]:
+    """Set memory limit for a parsl worker"""
+
+    def decorator(func: F) -> F:
+        def wrapper(*args: Any, **kwargs: Any) -> Any:
+            bytes_limit = int(limit_gb * 1024 * 1024 * 1024)
+            soft, hard = bytes_limit, bytes_limit
+            resource.setrlimit(resource.RLIMIT_AS, (soft, hard))
+            return func(*args, **kwargs)
+
+        return cast(F, wrapper)
+
+    return decorator
+
+
 @python_app
+@with_memory_limit(7.0)
 def _process_run(definition: ExecutionDefinition, log_level: str) -> ExecutionResult:
     """Run the function on computer nodes"""
     # This is a catch-all for any exceptions that occur in the process and need to raise for