diff --git a/nemo_curator/core/client.py b/nemo_curator/core/client.py
index 10facab1a2..06f193b598 100644
--- a/nemo_curator/core/client.py
+++ b/nemo_curator/core/client.py
@@ -281,7 +281,7 @@ def _parse_slurm_nodelist(nodelist: str) -> list[str]:
                     nodes.append(f"{prefix}{str(n).zfill(width)}")
             else:
                 nodes.append(f"{prefix}{part}")
-    return nodes if nodes else [nodelist]
+    return nodes or [nodelist]
 
 
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
@@ -519,6 +519,11 @@ def _run_as_worker(self, head_ip: str) -> int:
         if self.num_cpus is not None:
             cmd.extend(["--num-cpus", str(self.num_cpus)])
 
+        # Xenna manages GPU assignment itself. This must be present before the
+        # Ray worker process starts, otherwise Ray may mask CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES
+        # before Xenna can assign GPUs on worker nodes.
+        os.environ.setdefault("RAY_EXPERIMENTAL_NOSET_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES", "1")
+
         logger.info(f"Ray worker starting: {' '.join(cmd)}")
         result = subprocess.run(cmd, check=False)  # noqa: S603
         logger.info(f"Ray worker exited with code {result.returncode}")
diff --git a/nemo_curator/core/utils.py b/nemo_curator/core/utils.py
index f36671116a..b0689081ac 100644
--- a/nemo_curator/core/utils.py
+++ b/nemo_curator/core/utils.py
@@ -187,6 +187,10 @@ def init_cluster(  # noqa: PLR0913
 
     # We set some env vars for Xenna here. This is only used for Xenna clusters.
     os.environ["XENNA_RAY_METRICS_PORT"] = str(ray_metrics_port)
+    # Xenna manages GPU assignment itself. This must be present before the Ray
+    # cluster is started, otherwise Ray workers may mask CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES
+    # before Xenna can assign GPUs.
+    os.environ.setdefault("RAY_EXPERIMENTAL_NOSET_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES", "1")
 
     # Opt into Ray Serve's HAProxy ingress when both binaries resolve. Ray Serve
     # uses socat to drive HAProxy's admin socket — without it, the controller's
diff --git a/tests/core/test_ray_cluster_utils.py b/tests/core/test_ray_cluster_utils.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..92e89955e9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/core/test_ray_cluster_utils.py
@@ -0,0 +1,108 @@
+# Copyright (c) 2026, NVIDIA CORPORATION.  All rights reserved.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
+
+from nemo_curator.core import client as core_client
+from nemo_curator.core import utils as core_utils
+
+if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    from pathlib import Path
+
+    import pytest
+
+
+def _mock_init_cluster_dependencies(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch) -> list[list[str]]:
+    popen_calls: list[list[str]] = []
+
+    class FakePopen:
+        def __init__(self, cmd: list[str], **_kwargs: object) -> None:
+            popen_calls.append(cmd)
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(core_utils.ray.util, "register_serializer", lambda *_args, **_kwargs: None)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(core_utils, "get_free_port", lambda port, **_kwargs: port)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(core_utils.shutil, "which", lambda _cmd: None)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(core_utils.subprocess, "Popen", FakePopen)
+    return popen_calls
+
+
+def test_init_cluster_sets_xenna_gpu_env_before_ray_start(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch, tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    popen_calls = _mock_init_cluster_dependencies(monkeypatch)
+    monkeypatch.delenv("RAY_EXPERIMENTAL_NOSET_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES", raising=False)
+
+    core_utils.init_cluster(
+        ray_port=6379,
+        ray_temp_dir=str(tmp_path),
+        ray_dashboard_port=8265,
+        ray_metrics_port=8080,
+        ray_client_server_port=10001,
+        ray_dashboard_host="127.0.0.1",
+    )
+
+    assert popen_calls
+    assert "--head" in popen_calls[0]
+    assert "--block" in popen_calls[0]
+    assert core_utils.os.environ["RAY_EXPERIMENTAL_NOSET_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES"] == "1"
+
+
+def test_init_cluster_preserves_existing_xenna_gpu_env(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch, tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    _mock_init_cluster_dependencies(monkeypatch)
+    monkeypatch.setenv("RAY_EXPERIMENTAL_NOSET_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES", "0")
+
+    core_utils.init_cluster(
+        ray_port=6379,
+        ray_temp_dir=str(tmp_path),
+        ray_dashboard_port=8265,
+        ray_metrics_port=8080,
+        ray_client_server_port=10001,
+        ray_dashboard_host="127.0.0.1",
+    )
+
+    assert core_utils.os.environ["RAY_EXPERIMENTAL_NOSET_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES"] == "0"
+
+
+def test_slurm_worker_sets_xenna_gpu_env_before_ray_start(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch, tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    run_calls: list[list[str]] = []
+
+    def fake_run(cmd: list[str], **_kwargs: object) -> object:
+        run_calls.append(cmd)
+        assert core_client.os.environ["RAY_EXPERIMENTAL_NOSET_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES"] == "1"
+        return type("CompletedProcess", (), {"returncode": 0})()
+
+    monkeypatch.delenv("RAY_EXPERIMENTAL_NOSET_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES", raising=False)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(core_client, "_find_ray_binary", lambda: "ray")
+    monkeypatch.setattr(core_client.subprocess, "run", fake_run)
+
+    client = core_client.SlurmRayClient(ray_port=6379, ray_temp_dir=str(tmp_path))
+
+    assert client._run_as_worker("10.0.0.1") == 0
+    assert run_calls
+    assert run_calls[0][:4] == ["ray", "start", "--address", "10.0.0.1:6379"]
+
+
+def test_slurm_worker_preserves_existing_xenna_gpu_env(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch, tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    monkeypatch.setenv("RAY_EXPERIMENTAL_NOSET_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES", "0")
+    monkeypatch.setattr(core_client, "_find_ray_binary", lambda: "ray")
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        core_client.subprocess,
+        "run",
+        lambda *_args, **_kwargs: type("CompletedProcess", (), {"returncode": 0})(),
+    )
+
+    client = core_client.SlurmRayClient(ray_port=6379, ray_temp_dir=str(tmp_path))
+
+    assert client._run_as_worker("10.0.0.1") == 0
+    assert core_client.os.environ["RAY_EXPERIMENTAL_NOSET_CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES"] == "0"
diff --git a/tutorials/quickstart.py b/tutorials/quickstart.py
index 399e3fe579..90a7cd91c0 100644
--- a/tutorials/quickstart.py
+++ b/tutorials/quickstart.py
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
 
 from nemo_curator.backends.base import NodeInfo, WorkerMetadata
 from nemo_curator.backends.xenna import XennaExecutor
-from nemo_curator.core.client import RayClient
+from nemo_curator.core.client import SlurmRayClient
 from nemo_curator.pipeline import Pipeline
 from nemo_curator.stages.base import ProcessingStage
 from nemo_curator.stages.resources import Resources
@@ -217,7 +217,7 @@ def process(self, task: SampleTask) -> SampleTask:
 def main() -> None:
     """Main function to run the pipeline."""
     # Create pipeline
-    ray_client = RayClient()
+    ray_client = SlurmRayClient()
     ray_client.start()
     pipeline = Pipeline(name="sentiment_analysis", description="Analyze sentiment of sample sentences")