diff --git a/services/platform-service/src/modules/fleet/reaper.test.ts b/services/platform-service/src/modules/fleet/reaper.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..8c3c6bea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/services/platform-service/src/modules/fleet/reaper.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+/**
+ * Fleet lease reaper — verifies the background loop actually drives
+ * coordinator.reapExpiredLeases (start/stop/idempotency, immediate + interval
+ * passes, and that a failing pass never throws out of the timer).
+ */
+
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach, afterEach } from 'vitest';
+
+const { reapSpy } = vi.hoisted(() => ({ reapSpy: vi.fn() }));
+
+vi.mock('./coordinator.js', () => ({
+  reapExpiredLeases: reapSpy,
+}));
+
+import { startLeaseReaper, stopLeaseReaper, isLeaseReaperRunning } from './reaper.js';
+
+const log = { info: vi.fn(), warn: vi.fn() };
+
+describe('fleet lease reaper', () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers();
+    reapSpy.mockReset();
+    reapSpy.mockResolvedValue({ reaped: 0, jobIds: [] });
+    log.info.mockReset();
+    log.warn.mockReset();
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    stopLeaseReaper();
+    vi.useRealTimers();
+  });
+
+  it('runs a pass immediately on start, then on each interval', async () => {
+    startLeaseReaper(log);
+    expect(isLeaseReaperRunning()).toBe(true);
+    expect(reapSpy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1); // immediate boot pass
+
+    await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(30_000);
+    expect(reapSpy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+
+    await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(30_000);
+    expect(reapSpy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(3);
+  });
+
+  it('passes a fresh ISO timestamp to reapExpiredLeases', async () => {
+    startLeaseReaper(log);
+    expect(reapSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.stringMatching(/^\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}T/));
+  });
+
+  it('logs only when something was reclaimed', async () => {
+    reapSpy.mockResolvedValueOnce({ reaped: 2, jobIds: ['fjob_a', 'fjob_b'] });
+    startLeaseReaper(log);
+    await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(0);
+    expect(log.info).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.stringContaining('reclaimed 2'));
+  });
+
+  it('is idempotent: a second start does not double-schedule', async () => {
+    startLeaseReaper(log);
+    startLeaseReaper(log);
+    expect(reapSpy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(30_000);
+    expect(reapSpy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2); // one interval, not two
+  });
+
+  it('stop halts further passes and is idempotent', async () => {
+    startLeaseReaper(log);
+    stopLeaseReaper();
+    expect(isLeaseReaperRunning()).toBe(false);
+    await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(90_000);
+    expect(reapSpy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1); // only the boot pass ran
+    expect(() => stopLeaseReaper()).not.toThrow();
+  });
+
+  it('swallows a failing pass and keeps the timer alive', async () => {
+    reapSpy.mockRejectedValueOnce(new Error('cosmos unavailable'));
+    startLeaseReaper(log);
+    await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(0); // let the rejected boot pass settle
+    expect(log.warn).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.stringContaining('reap pass failed'));
+
+    // The interval is still scheduled and the next pass runs.
+    reapSpy.mockResolvedValueOnce({ reaped: 0, jobIds: [] });
+    await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(30_000);
+    expect(reapSpy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/services/platform-service/src/modules/fleet/reaper.ts b/services/platform-service/src/modules/fleet/reaper.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..63d15637
--- /dev/null
+++ b/services/platform-service/src/modules/fleet/reaper.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+/**
+ * Fleet lease reaper — background loop that reclaims jobs whose factory died.
+ *
+ * `coordinator.reapExpiredLeases` implements the full §25 recovery (fence the
+ * zombie holder via a leaseEpoch bump, return the job to queued/blocked, preserve
+ * the checkpoint pointer), but it is a pure function that does nothing until
+ * something calls it. Without a scheduler a crashed/disconnected factory's job
+ * stays stuck in an active stage forever. This module is that scheduler: a single
+ * process-wide timer (leases are queried across all products), started once at
+ * server boot and stopped on graceful shutdown — mirroring the diagnostics
+ * trigger job pattern.
+ */
+
+import { reapExpiredLeases } from './coordinator.js';
+
+/** How often to scan for expired leases. Well under the runner's 90s stale
+ *  threshold so a dead factory's job is reclaimed promptly. */
+const REAP_INTERVAL_MS = 30_000;
+
+let reaperInterval: ReturnType<typeof globalThis.setInterval> | null = null;
+
+interface ReaperLog {
+  info: (...a: unknown[]) => void;
+  warn?: (...a: unknown[]) => void;
+}
+
+/** One reap pass. Never throws — a transient datastore error is logged and the
+ *  next tick retries (recovery must not crash the service). */
+async function runReapPass(log?: ReaperLog): Promise<void> {
+  try {
+    const { reaped, jobIds } = await reapExpiredLeases(new Date().toISOString());
+    if (reaped > 0) {
+      log?.info(`[fleet-reaper] reclaimed ${reaped} expired-lease job(s): ${jobIds.join(', ')}`);
+    }
+  } catch (err) {
+    const msg = err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err);
+    (log?.warn ?? log?.info)?.(`[fleet-reaper] reap pass failed: ${msg}`);
+  }
+}
+
+/** Start the lease reaper. Idempotent: a second call while running is a no-op. */
+export function startLeaseReaper(log?: ReaperLog): void {
+  if (reaperInterval) return;
+  log?.info(`[fleet-reaper] starting (every ${REAP_INTERVAL_MS / 1000}s)`);
+  // Run once on boot so a restart promptly recovers jobs orphaned while down.
+  void runReapPass(log);
+  reaperInterval = globalThis.setInterval(() => {
+    void runReapPass(log);
+  }, REAP_INTERVAL_MS);
+}
+
+/** Stop the lease reaper (graceful shutdown). Idempotent. */
+export function stopLeaseReaper(): void {
+  if (reaperInterval) {
+    globalThis.clearInterval(reaperInterval);
+    reaperInterval = null;
+  }
+}
+
+/** Test/diagnostics helper: is the reaper currently scheduled? */
+export function isLeaseReaperRunning(): boolean {
+  return reaperInterval !== null;
+}
diff --git a/services/platform-service/src/server.ts b/services/platform-service/src/server.ts
index 13303694..bd3566f2 100644
--- a/services/platform-service/src/server.ts
+++ b/services/platform-service/src/server.ts
@@ -77,6 +77,7 @@ import { crashTriggerRoutes } from './modules/diagnostics/crash-trigger.js';
 import { sessionReplayRoutes } from './modules/diagnostics/session-replay-routes.js';
 import { performanceProfileRoutes } from './modules/diagnostics/performance-profile-routes.js';
 import { startTriggerEvaluationJob } from './modules/diagnostics/trigger-job.js';
+import { startLeaseReaper, stopLeaseReaper } from './modules/fleet/reaper.js';
 import { broadcastRoutes } from './modules/broadcasts/routes.js';
 import { surveyRoutes } from './modules/surveys/routes.js';
 import { jobRoutes } from './modules/jobs/routes.js';
@@ -360,4 +361,10 @@ app.addHook('onClose', async () => {
 // Start diagnostic trigger evaluation job (Phase 4)
 startTriggerEvaluationJob(app.log);
 
+// Start the fleet lease reaper — reclaims jobs whose factory died (§25 recovery).
+startLeaseReaper(app.log);
+app.addHook('onClose', async () => {
+  stopLeaseReaper();
+});
+
 await startService(app, { port: config.PORT, host: config.HOST });