diff --git a/qa/restart-upgrade/src/test/java/org/opensearch/neuralsearch/bwc/SemanticSearchIT.java b/qa/restart-upgrade/src/test/java/org/opensearch/neuralsearch/bwc/SemanticSearchIT.java
index d2c0b0c12..f2b6088ee 100644
--- a/qa/restart-upgrade/src/test/java/org/opensearch/neuralsearch/bwc/SemanticSearchIT.java
+++ b/qa/restart-upgrade/src/test/java/org/opensearch/neuralsearch/bwc/SemanticSearchIT.java
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ public void testSemanticSearch() throws Exception {
             Map<String, Object> pipeline = getIngestionPipeline(PIPELINE_NAME);
             assertNotNull(pipeline);
             String modelId = getModelId(pipeline, TEXT_EMBEDDING_PROCESSOR);
+            loadModel(modelId);
             addDocument(getIndexNameForTest(), "1", TEST_FIELD, TEXT_1);
             validateTestIndex(modelId);
             deletePipeline(PIPELINE_NAME);