diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index e8a5902449..1391c54abd 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ HELM_SCHEMA_VERSION = 0.18.1
 PREFIX ?= nginx-gateway-fabric## The name of the NGF image. For example, nginx-gateway-fabric
 NGINX_PREFIX ?= $(PREFIX)/nginx## The name of the nginx image. For example: nginx-gateway-fabric/nginx
 NGINX_PLUS_PREFIX ?= $(PREFIX)/nginx-plus## The name of the nginx plus image. For example: nginx-gateway-fabric/nginx-plus
+BUILD_OS ?= ## The OS of the nginx image. Possible values: ubi and empty string, which defaults to alpine.
 NGINX_SERVICE_TYPE ?= NodePort## The type of the nginx service. Possible values: NodePort, LoadBalancer, ClusterIP
 PULL_POLICY ?= Never## The pull policy of the images. Possible values: Always, IfNotPresent, Never
 TAG ?= $(VERSION:v%=%)## The tag of the image. For example, 1.1.0
@@ -85,21 +86,21 @@ build-prod-ngf-image: build-ngf-image ## Build the NGF docker image for producti
 
 .PHONY: build-ngf-image
 build-ngf-image: check-for-docker build ## Build the NGF docker image
-	docker build --platform linux/$(GOARCH) --build-arg BUILD_AGENT=$(BUILD_AGENT) --target $(strip $(TARGET)) -f $(SELF_DIR)build/Dockerfile -t $(strip $(PREFIX)):$(strip $(TAG)) $(strip $(SELF_DIR))
+	docker build --platform linux/$(GOARCH) --build-arg BUILD_AGENT=$(BUILD_AGENT) --target $(strip $(TARGET)) -f $(SELF_DIR)build/$(if $(BUILD_OS),$(BUILD_OS)/)Dockerfile -t $(strip $(PREFIX)):$(strip $(TAG)) $(strip $(SELF_DIR))
 
 .PHONY: build-prod-nginx-image
 build-prod-nginx-image: build-nginx-image ## Build the custom nginx image for production
 
 .PHONY: build-nginx-image
 build-nginx-image: check-for-docker ## Build the custom nginx image
-	docker build --platform linux/$(GOARCH) $(strip $(NGINX_DOCKER_BUILD_OPTIONS)) -f $(SELF_DIR)build/Dockerfile.nginx -t $(strip $(NGINX_PREFIX)):$(strip $(TAG)) $(strip $(SELF_DIR))
+	docker build --platform linux/$(GOARCH) $(strip $(NGINX_DOCKER_BUILD_OPTIONS)) -f $(SELF_DIR)build/$(if $(BUILD_OS),$(BUILD_OS)/)Dockerfile.nginx -t $(strip $(NGINX_PREFIX)):$(strip $(TAG)) $(strip $(SELF_DIR))
 
 .PHONY: build-prod-nginx-plus-image
 build-prod-nginx-plus-image: build-nginx-plus-image ## Build the custom nginx plus image for production
 
 .PHONY: build-nginx-plus-image
 build-nginx-plus-image: check-for-docker ## Build the custom nginx plus image
-	docker build --platform linux/$(GOARCH) $(strip $(NGINX_DOCKER_BUILD_OPTIONS)) $(strip $(NGINX_DOCKER_BUILD_PLUS_ARGS))  -f $(SELF_DIR)build/Dockerfile.nginxplus -t $(strip $(NGINX_PLUS_PREFIX)):$(strip $(TAG)) $(strip $(SELF_DIR))
+	docker build --platform linux/$(GOARCH) $(strip $(NGINX_DOCKER_BUILD_OPTIONS)) $(strip $(NGINX_DOCKER_BUILD_PLUS_ARGS))  -f $(SELF_DIR)build/$(if $(BUILD_OS),$(BUILD_OS)/)Dockerfile.nginxplus -t $(strip $(NGINX_PLUS_PREFIX)):$(strip $(TAG)) $(strip $(SELF_DIR))
 
 .PHONY: check-for-docker
 check-for-docker: ## Check if Docker is installed
diff --git a/build/entrypoint.sh b/build/entrypoint.sh
index 9e9552b338..3c05aebcd9 100755
--- a/build/entrypoint.sh
+++ b/build/entrypoint.sh
@@ -40,12 +40,12 @@ fi
 nginx_pid=$!
 
 SECONDS=0
-
-while ! ps -ef | grep "nginx: master process" | grep -v grep; do
-    if ((SECONDS > 5)); then
+while [[ ! -f /var/run/nginx.pid ]] && [[ ! -f /var/run/nginx/nginx.pid ]]; do
+    if ((SECONDS > 30)); then
         echo "couldn't find nginx master process"
         exit 1
     fi
+    sleep 1
 done
 
 # start nginx-agent, pass args
diff --git a/build/ubi/Dockerfile b/build/ubi/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..81cc76e417
--- /dev/null
+++ b/build/ubi/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1.18
+FROM golang:1.25 AS builder
+
+WORKDIR /go/src/github.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric
+
+COPY go.mod go.sum /go/src/github.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/
+RUN go mod download
+
+COPY . /go/src/github.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric
+RUN make build
+
+FROM golang:1.25 AS ca-certs-provider
+
+FROM redhat/ubi9-minimal:9.6 AS ngf-ubi-minimal
+# CA certs are needed for telemetry report so that NGF can verify the server's certificate.
+COPY --from=ca-certs-provider --link /etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt /etc/ssl/certs/
+USER 101:1001
+ARG BUILD_AGENT
+ENV BUILD_AGENT=${BUILD_AGENT}
+ENTRYPOINT [ "/usr/bin/gateway" ]
+
+FROM ngf-ubi-minimal AS container
+COPY --from=builder /go/src/github.com/nginxinc/nginx-gateway-fabric/build/out/gateway /usr/bin/gateway
+
+FROM ngf-ubi-minimal AS local
+COPY ./build/out/gateway /usr/bin/gateway
+
+FROM ngf-ubi-minimal AS goreleaser
+ARG TARGETARCH
+COPY dist/gateway_linux_$TARGETARCH*/gateway /usr/bin/gateway
diff --git a/build/ubi/Dockerfile.nginx b/build/ubi/Dockerfile.nginx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..71adbb37e7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/build/ubi/Dockerfile.nginx
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1.18
+FROM scratch AS nginx-files
+
+# Repository and key files for UBI-based builds
+ADD --link --chown=101:1001 https://nginx.org/keys/nginx_signing.key nginx_signing.key
+ADD --link --chown=101:1001 build/ubi/repos/nginx.repo nginx.repo
+ADD --link --chown=101:1001 build/ubi/repos/agent.repo agent.repo
+
+FROM ghcr.io/nginx/dependencies/nginx-ubi:ubi9@sha256:01a32246761b9bbe47a6a29bcd8ca6e9b6e331b3bdfa372d8987b622276f7025 AS ubi9-packages
+
+FROM redhat/ubi9-minimal:9.6 AS ubi-nginx
+
+# renovate: datasource=github-tags depName=nginx/agent
+ARG NGINX_AGENT_VERSION=v3.3.1
+ARG NJS_DIR
+ARG NGINX_CONF_DIR
+ARG BUILD_AGENT
+
+LABEL name="F5 NGINX Gateway Fabric NGINX OSS" \
+	maintainer="kubernetes@nginx.com" \
+	vendor="F5 NGINX" \
+	summary="NGINX Gateway Fabric" \
+	description="NGINX Gateway Fabric provides an implementation for the Gateway API using NGINX as the data plane." \
+	org.nginx.ngf.image.build.agent="${BUILD_AGENT}" \
+	io.k8s.description="NGINX Gateway Fabric provides an implementation for the Gateway API using NGINX as the data plane." \
+	io.openshift.tags="nginx,gateway,kubernetes,openshift"
+
+COPY --link --chown=101:1001 LICENSE /licenses/
+
+# Install NGINX with packages
+RUN --mount=type=bind,from=nginx-files,src=nginx_signing.key,target=/tmp/nginx_signing.key \
+    --mount=type=bind,from=nginx-files,src=nginx.repo,target=/etc/yum.repos.d/nginx.repo \
+    --mount=type=bind,from=nginx-files,src=agent.repo,target=/etc/yum.repos.d/agent.repo \
+    --mount=type=bind,from=ubi9-packages,src=/,target=/ubi-bin/ \
+    # Import NGINX signing key
+    rpm --import /tmp/nginx_signing.key \
+    # Install c-ares from the dependencies image (contains required libs)
+    && rpm -Uvh /ubi-bin/c-ares-*.rpm \
+    # Create nginx user with consistent UID/GID
+    && groupadd -g 1001 nginx \
+    && useradd -r -u 101 -g nginx -s /sbin/nologin -d /var/cache/nginx nginx \
+    # Install NGINX and modules including OTEL
+    && microdnf --nodocs install -y nginx nginx-module-njs nginx-module-otel \
+    # Install nginx-agent
+    && microdnf --nodocs install -y nginx-agent-${NGINX_AGENT_VERSION#v}* \
+    # Clean up (only remove what we can)
+    && microdnf clean all \
+    && rm -rf /var/cache/yum
+
+# Configure directories and logging
+RUN mkdir -p /usr/lib/nginx/modules /var/run/nginx /usr/lib64/nginx/modules \
+    # Forward request and error logs to docker log collector
+    && ln -sf /dev/stdout /var/log/nginx/access.log \
+    && ln -sf /dev/stderr /var/log/nginx/error.log \
+    && mv /usr/lib64/nginx/modules/ngx_* /usr/lib/nginx/modules/
+
+# Set proper permissions for nginx user
+RUN chown -R 101:1001 /etc/nginx /var/cache/nginx
+
+# Copy configuration files and scripts
+COPY build/entrypoint.sh /agent/entrypoint.sh
+COPY ${NJS_DIR}/ /usr/lib/nginx/modules/njs/
+COPY ${NGINX_CONF_DIR}/nginx.conf /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
+COPY ${NGINX_CONF_DIR}/grpc-error-locations.conf /etc/nginx/grpc-error-locations.conf
+COPY ${NGINX_CONF_DIR}/grpc-error-pages.conf /etc/nginx/grpc-error-pages.conf
+
+# Switch to non-root user
+USER 101:1001
+
+ENTRYPOINT ["/agent/entrypoint.sh"]
diff --git a/build/ubi/Dockerfile.nginxplus b/build/ubi/Dockerfile.nginxplus
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6224136c09
--- /dev/null
+++ b/build/ubi/Dockerfile.nginxplus
@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1.18
+FROM scratch AS nginx-files
+
+# NGINX Plus repo and key files (must be provided at build time)
+ADD --link --chown=101:1001 https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/plus-9.repo nginx-plus.repo
+ADD --link --chown=101:1001 https://nginx.org/keys/nginx_signing.key nginx_signing.key
+ADD --link --chown=101:1001 build/ubi/repos/agent.repo agent.repo
+
+FROM ghcr.io/nginx/dependencies/nginx-ubi:ubi9@sha256:01a32246761b9bbe47a6a29bcd8ca6e9b6e331b3bdfa372d8987b622276f7025 AS ubi9-packages
+
+FROM redhat/ubi9-minimal:9.6 AS ubi-nginx-plus
+
+ARG NGINX_PLUS_VERSION=R35
+
+# renovate: datasource=github-tags depName=nginx/agent
+ARG NGINX_AGENT_VERSION=v3.3.1
+ARG NJS_DIR
+ARG NGINX_CONF_DIR
+ARG BUILD_AGENT
+
+LABEL name="F5 NGINX Gateway Fabric NGINX Plus" \
+	maintainer="kubernetes@nginx.com" \
+	vendor="F5 NGINX" \
+	summary="NGINX Gateway Fabric" \
+	description="NGINX Gateway Fabric provides an implementation for the Gateway API using NGINX as the data plane." \
+	org.nginx.ngf.image.build.agent="${BUILD_AGENT}" \
+	io.k8s.description="NGINX Gateway Fabric provides an implementation for the Gateway API using NGINX as the data plane." \
+	io.openshift.tags="nginx,gateway,kubernetes,openshift"
+
+COPY --link --chown=101:1001 LICENSE /licenses/
+
+# Install NGINX Plus and modules
+RUN --mount=type=bind,from=nginx-files,src=nginx-plus.repo,target=/etc/yum.repos.d/nginx-plus.repo \
+    --mount=type=bind,from=nginx-files,src=agent.repo,target=/etc/yum.repos.d/agent.repo \
+    --mount=type=bind,from=nginx-files,src=nginx_signing.key,target=/tmp/nginx_signing.key \
+    --mount=type=bind,from=ubi9-packages,src=/,target=/ubi-bin/ \
+    --mount=type=secret,id=nginx-repo.crt,dst=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.crt,mode=0644 \
+	--mount=type=secret,id=nginx-repo.key,dst=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.key,mode=0644 \
+    # Install shadow-utils for useradd and subscription-manager for repo access
+    microdnf --nodocs install -y shadow-utils subscription-manager \
+    && rpm --import /tmp/nginx_signing.key \
+    # Install c-ares from the dependencies image (contains required libs)
+    && rpm -Uvh /ubi-bin/c-ares-*.rpm \
+    # Create nginx user with consistent UID/GID
+    && groupadd -g 1001 nginx \
+    && useradd -r -u 101 -g nginx -s /sbin/nologin -d /var/cache/nginx nginx \
+    # Install NGINX Plus and modules (njs, otel)
+    && microdnf --nodocs install -y nginx-plus-${NGINX_PLUS_VERSION,,} \
+    && microdnf --nodocs install -y nginx-plus-module-njs-${NGINX_PLUS_VERSION,,} nginx-plus-module-otel-${NGINX_PLUS_VERSION,,} \
+    # Install nginx-agent
+    && microdnf --nodocs install -y nginx-agent-${NGINX_AGENT_VERSION#v}* \
+    # Clean up
+    && microdnf remove -y shadow-utils subscription-manager \
+    && microdnf clean all \
+    && rm -rf /var/cache/yum
+
+# Configure directories and logging
+RUN mkdir -p /usr/lib/nginx/modules /var/run/nginx /usr/lib64/nginx/modules \
+    # Forward request and error logs to docker log collector
+    && ln -sf /dev/stdout /var/log/nginx/access.log \
+    && ln -sf /dev/stderr /var/log/nginx/error.log \
+    && mv /usr/lib64/nginx/modules/ngx_* /usr/lib/nginx/modules/
+
+# Copy default html files to a writable location
+RUN mkdir -p /etc/nginx/html \
+    && cp /usr/share/nginx/html/* /etc/nginx/html/
+
+# Set proper permissions for nginx user
+RUN chown -R 101:1001 /etc/nginx /var/cache/nginx
+
+# Copy configuration files and scripts
+COPY build/entrypoint.sh /agent/entrypoint.sh
+COPY ${NJS_DIR}/ /usr/lib/nginx/modules/njs/
+COPY ${NGINX_CONF_DIR}/nginx.conf /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
+COPY ${NGINX_CONF_DIR}/grpc-error-locations.conf /etc/nginx/grpc-error-locations.conf
+COPY ${NGINX_CONF_DIR}/grpc-error-pages.conf /etc/nginx/grpc-error-pages.conf
+
+# Switch to non-root user
+USER 101:1001
+
+ENTRYPOINT ["/agent/entrypoint.sh"]
diff --git a/build/ubi/repos/agent.repo b/build/ubi/repos/agent.repo
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..36665b874b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/build/ubi/repos/agent.repo
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+[agent]
+name=agent repo
+baseurl=https://packages.nginx.org/nginx-agent/centos/9/$basearch/
+gpgcheck=1
+enabled=1
+module_hotfixes=true
diff --git a/build/ubi/repos/nginx.repo b/build/ubi/repos/nginx.repo
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7c8e132faf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/build/ubi/repos/nginx.repo
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+[nginx]
+name=nginx repo
+baseurl=https://packages.nginx.org/nginx/mainline/centos/9/$basearch/
+gpgcheck=1
+enabled=1
+module_hotfixes=true