diff --git a/manager/install.sh b/manager/install.sh
index 4a9e512c2a..28b73cb52a 100755
--- a/manager/install.sh
+++ b/manager/install.sh
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 set -e
 
 CORTEX_VERSION=master
+EKSCTL_TIMEOUT=45m
 
 arg1="$1"
 
@@ -36,13 +37,13 @@ function ensure_eks() {
 
     echo -e "￮ spinning up the cluster ... (this will take about 15 minutes)\n"
 
-    envsubst < eks_cluster.yaml | eksctl create cluster -f -
+    envsubst < eks_cluster.yaml | eksctl create cluster --timeout=$EKSCTL_TIMEOUT -f -
 
     # https://docs.aws.amazon.com/eks/latest/userguide/cni-upgrades.html
     kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/aws/amazon-vpc-cni-k8s/v1.5.5/config/v1.5/aws-k8s-cni.yaml >/dev/null
 
     python generate_eks.py $CORTEX_CLUSTER_CONFIG_FILE > $CORTEX_CLUSTER_WORKSPACE/eks_nodegroup.yaml
-    eksctl create nodegroup -f $CORTEX_CLUSTER_WORKSPACE/eks_nodegroup.yaml
+    eksctl create nodegroup --timeout=$EKSCTL_TIMEOUT -f $CORTEX_CLUSTER_WORKSPACE/eks_nodegroup.yaml
 
     if [ "$CORTEX_SPOT" == "True" ]; then
       asg_info=$(aws autoscaling describe-auto-scaling-groups --region $CORTEX_REGION --query "AutoScalingGroups[?contains(Tags[?Key==\`alpha.eksctl.io/cluster-name\`].Value, \`$CORTEX_CLUSTER_NAME\`)]|[?contains(Tags[?Key==\`alpha.eksctl.io/nodegroup-name\`].Value, \`ng-cortex-worker-spot\`)]")
diff --git a/manager/uninstall.sh b/manager/uninstall.sh
index 539774fc2a..9548413677 100755
--- a/manager/uninstall.sh
+++ b/manager/uninstall.sh
@@ -16,8 +16,10 @@
 
 set -e
 
+EKSCTL_TIMEOUT=45m
+
 echo -e "spinning down the cluster ...\n"
 
-eksctl delete cluster --name=$CORTEX_CLUSTER_NAME --region=$CORTEX_REGION
+eksctl delete cluster --name=$CORTEX_CLUSTER_NAME --region=$CORTEX_REGION --timeout=$EKSCTL_TIMEOUT
 
 echo "✓ please check cloudformation to ensure that all resources for the ${CORTEX_CLUSTER_NAME} cluster are successfully deleted: https://${CORTEX_REGION}.console.aws.amazon.com/cloudformation"