diff --git a/cockroachdb/templates/job.init.yaml b/cockroachdb/templates/job.init.yaml
index 72ddaf1b..5b83bf05 100644
--- a/cockroachdb/templates/job.init.yaml
+++ b/cockroachdb/templates/job.init.yaml
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 {{ $isClusterInitEnabled := and (eq (len .Values.conf.join) 0) (not (index .Values.conf `single-node`)) }}
 {{ $isDatabaseProvisioningEnabled := .Values.init.provisioning.enabled }}
+{{ $isIstioEnabled := .Values.init.istio.enabled }}
 {{- if or $isClusterInitEnabled $isDatabaseProvisioningEnabled }}
   {{ template "cockroachdb.tlsValidation" . }}
 kind: Job
@@ -94,6 +95,16 @@ spec:
           - /bin/bash
           - -c
           - >-
+            {{- if $isIstioEnabled }}
+              istio() {
+                trap "curl --max-time 2 -s -f -XPOST http://127.0.0.1:15000/quitquitquit" EXIT
+                while ! curl -s -f http://127.0.0.1:15020/healthz/ready; do sleep 1; done;
+                sleep 2;
+              }
+
+              istio;
+            {{- end }}
+              
             {{- if $isClusterInitEnabled }}
               initCluster() {
                 while true; do
diff --git a/cockroachdb/values.yaml b/cockroachdb/values.yaml
index 9d54946d..429ca13d 100644
--- a/cockroachdb/values.yaml
+++ b/cockroachdb/values.yaml
@@ -423,6 +423,10 @@ init:
     #       # https://www.cockroachlabs.com/docs/stable/create-schedule-for-backup.html#schedule-options
     #       options: [first_run = 'now']
 
+  # enable istio to wait for the proxy to be ready and to quit when done.
+  istio:
+    enabled: false
+
 
 # Whether to run securely using TLS certificates.
 tls: