diff --git a/Dockerfile.tmpl b/Dockerfile.tmpl
index d9d38935..472e7434 100644
--- a/Dockerfile.tmpl
+++ b/Dockerfile.tmpl
@@ -26,8 +26,9 @@ RUN uv pip install --no-build-isolation --no-cache --system "git+https://github.
 
 # b/404590350: Ray and torchtune have conflicting cli named `tune`. `ray` is not part of Colab's base image. Re-install `tune` to ensure the torchtune CLI is available by default.
 # b/468367647: Unpin protobuf, version greater than v5.29.5 causes issues with numerous packages
+# grpcio-tools must be installed here (not in kaggle_requirements.txt) to stay version-compatible with protobuf.
 RUN uv pip install --system --force-reinstall --no-cache --no-deps torchtune
-RUN uv pip install --system --force-reinstall --no-cache "protobuf==5.29.5"
+RUN uv pip install --system --force-reinstall --no-cache "protobuf==5.29.5" "grpcio-tools>=1.60.0"
 
 # Adding non-package dependencies:
 ADD clean-layer.sh  /tmp/clean-layer.sh
diff --git a/tests/test_grpcio_tools.py b/tests/test_grpcio_tools.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..cc0c6418
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_grpcio_tools.py
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+import os
+import subprocess
+import sys
+import tempfile
+import unittest
+
+PROTO_CONTENT = """\
+syntax = "proto3";
+
+package smoketest;
+
+message PingRequest {
+  string message = 1;
+}
+
+message PingReply {
+  string message = 1;
+}
+
+service PingService {
+  rpc Ping (PingRequest) returns (PingReply);
+}
+"""
+
+
+class TestGrpcioTools(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_compile_proto(self):
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmpdir:
+            proto_path = os.path.join(tmpdir, "ping.proto")
+            with open(proto_path, "w") as f:
+                f.write(PROTO_CONTENT)
+
+            subprocess.check_call(
+                [
+                    sys.executable,
+                    "-m",
+                    "grpc_tools.protoc",
+                    f"--proto_path={tmpdir}",
+                    f"--python_out={tmpdir}",
+                    f"--grpc_python_out={tmpdir}",
+                    f"--pyi_out={tmpdir}",
+                    "ping.proto",
+                ]
+            )
+
+            pb2_path = os.path.join(tmpdir, "ping_pb2.py")
+            pb2_grpc_path = os.path.join(tmpdir, "ping_pb2_grpc.py")
+            pyi_path = os.path.join(tmpdir, "ping_pb2.pyi")
+            self.assertTrue(os.path.exists(pb2_path))
+            self.assertTrue(os.path.exists(pb2_grpc_path))
+            self.assertTrue(os.path.exists(pyi_path))
+
+            sys.path.insert(0, tmpdir)
+            import ping_pb2
+            import ping_pb2_grpc
+
+            req = ping_pb2.PingRequest(message="hello")
+            self.assertEqual(req.message, "hello")
+            self.assertTrue(hasattr(ping_pb2_grpc, "PingServiceStub"))
+            self.assertTrue(hasattr(ping_pb2_grpc, "PingServiceServicer"))