diff --git a/.changeset/fix-scheduler-sleep-overflow.md b/.changeset/fix-scheduler-sleep-overflow.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..bf51ade22d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/fix-scheduler-sleep-overflow.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@backstage/backend-defaults': patch
+---
+
+Fixed scheduler `sleep` firing immediately for durations longer than ~24.8 days, caused by Node.js `setTimeout` overflowing its 32-bit millisecond limit.
diff --git a/packages/backend-defaults/src/entrypoints/scheduler/lib/PluginTaskSchedulerImpl.test.ts b/packages/backend-defaults/src/entrypoints/scheduler/lib/PluginTaskSchedulerImpl.test.ts
index cc8aac5f51..c91466f667 100644
--- a/packages/backend-defaults/src/entrypoints/scheduler/lib/PluginTaskSchedulerImpl.test.ts
+++ b/packages/backend-defaults/src/entrypoints/scheduler/lib/PluginTaskSchedulerImpl.test.ts
@@ -150,13 +150,13 @@ describe('PluginTaskManagerImpl', () => {
           id: 'task1',
           timeout: Duration.fromMillis(5000),
           frequency: Duration.fromObject({ years: 1 }),
-          initialDelay: Duration.fromObject({ years: 1 }),
+          initialDelay: Duration.fromObject({ seconds: 60 }),
           fn,
           scope: 'global',
         });
 
         await manager.triggerTask('task1');
-        jest.advanceTimersByTime(5000);
+        await jest.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(65_000);
 
         await promise;
         expect(fn).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.any(AbortSignal));
diff --git a/packages/backend-defaults/src/entrypoints/scheduler/lib/util.test.ts b/packages/backend-defaults/src/entrypoints/scheduler/lib/util.test.ts
index e2536abb88..c4126588fb 100644
--- a/packages/backend-defaults/src/entrypoints/scheduler/lib/util.test.ts
+++ b/packages/backend-defaults/src/entrypoints/scheduler/lib/util.test.ts
@@ -56,6 +56,29 @@ describe('util', () => {
       await promise;
       expect(true).toBe(true);
     }, 1_000);
+
+    it('handles durations longer than 2^31 ms by chunking setTimeout calls', async () => {
+      jest.useFakeTimers();
+      try {
+        const thirtyDaysMs = 30 * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000;
+        let resolved = false;
+        const promise = sleep(Duration.fromMillis(thirtyDaysMs)).then(() => {
+          resolved = true;
+        });
+
+        expect(jest.getTimerCount()).toBe(1);
+
+        await jest.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(2 ** 30);
+        expect(resolved).toBe(false);
+        expect(jest.getTimerCount()).toBe(1);
+
+        await jest.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(thirtyDaysMs - 2 ** 30);
+        await promise;
+        expect(resolved).toBe(true);
+      } finally {
+        jest.useRealTimers();
+      }
+    });
   });
 
   describe('delegateAbortController', () => {
diff --git a/packages/backend-defaults/src/entrypoints/scheduler/lib/util.ts b/packages/backend-defaults/src/entrypoints/scheduler/lib/util.ts
index 3e42d198df..06d6750ba0 100644
--- a/packages/backend-defaults/src/entrypoints/scheduler/lib/util.ts
+++ b/packages/backend-defaults/src/entrypoints/scheduler/lib/util.ts
@@ -54,6 +54,11 @@ export function nowPlus(duration: Duration | undefined, knex: Knex) {
   return knex.raw(`now() + interval '${seconds} seconds'`);
 }
 
+// Node.js setTimeout uses a 32-bit signed integer internally, so timeouts
+// longer than 2^31-1 ms (~24.8 days) fire immediately. We cap each individual
+// wait at 2^30 ms (~12.4 days) and loop until the full duration has elapsed.
+const MAX_TIMEOUT_MS = 2 ** 30;
+
 /**
  * Sleep for the given duration, but return sooner if the abort signal
  * triggers.
@@ -69,19 +74,34 @@ export async function sleep(
     return;
   }
 
-  await new Promise<void>(resolve => {
-    let timeoutHandle: NodeJS.Timeout | undefined = undefined;
+  let remaining = duration.as('milliseconds');
+  if (!Number.isFinite(remaining) || remaining <= 0) {
+    return;
+  }
 
-    const done = () => {
+  await new Promise<void>(resolve => {
+    let timeoutHandle: NodeJS.Timeout | undefined;
+
+    const finish = () => {
       if (timeoutHandle) {
         clearTimeout(timeoutHandle);
       }
-      abortSignal?.removeEventListener('abort', done);
+      abortSignal?.removeEventListener('abort', finish);
       resolve();
     };
 
-    timeoutHandle = setTimeout(done, duration.as('milliseconds'));
-    abortSignal?.addEventListener('abort', done);
+    const tick = () => {
+      if (remaining <= 0) {
+        finish();
+        return;
+      }
+      const chunk = Math.min(remaining, MAX_TIMEOUT_MS);
+      remaining -= chunk;
+      timeoutHandle = setTimeout(tick, chunk);
+    };
+
+    abortSignal?.addEventListener('abort', finish);
+    tick();
   });
 }