diff --git a/pkg/awsutil/secrets.go b/pkg/awsutil/secrets.go
index 1b352d6..5ffae63 100644
--- a/pkg/awsutil/secrets.go
+++ b/pkg/awsutil/secrets.go
@@ -1,19 +1,28 @@
 package awsutil
 
 import (
+	"context"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
 
-	"github.com/pkg/errors"
-
 	"github.com/aws/aws-secretsmanager-caching-go/secretcache"
+	"github.com/pkg/errors"
 )
 
 // secretsManagerArnPrefix marks an env value that is a reference to a secret
 // rather than the secret itself.
 const secretsManagerArnPrefix = "arn:aws:secretsmanager"
 
+// SecretsBundleEnv is the env name every service reads to find the bundle
+// Secrets Manager ARN. SC's Pulumi renderer writes exactly this env name
+// when `cloudExtras.secretsBundle` is set — see
+// `forge/docs/design/2026-10-17/sc-secrets-bundle-mode/README.md` §3.3.
+// Services that want a different env name can call LoadSecretBundleFromEnv.
+const SecretsBundleEnv = "FORGE_SECRETS_BUNDLE_ARN"
+
 var (
 	secretCacheOnce sync.Once
 	secretCache     *secretcache.Cache
@@ -58,3 +67,95 @@ func GetEnvOrSecret(envName string) (string, error) {
 	}
 	return secretValue, nil
 }
+
+// LoadSecretBundle resolves the Secrets Manager ARN carried by
+// FORGE_SECRETS_BUNDLE_ARN (the SecretsBundleEnv constant), parses it as a
+// JSON object of {envName:string → value:string}, and os.Setenv's each key.
+//
+// Services that opt into bundle mode (SC `cloudExtras.secretsBundle`,
+// design 2026-10-17) call this ONCE from main() BEFORE any code reads a
+// secret env. After it returns, every GetEnvOrSecret("TAVILY_API_KEY")
+// (and every plain os.Getenv) returns the loaded value — the rest of the
+// fleet continues to use the same env-read contract it already uses.
+//
+// Design decisions worth knowing:
+//
+//   - A missing SecretsBundleEnv is a NO-OP (nil error). Legacy per-key
+//     ARN envs continue to work via GetEnvOrSecret unchanged. This lets
+//     the SDK pin update roll out before any service opts in.
+//
+//   - A set-but-not-ARN SecretsBundleEnv value is a hard error — the
+//     operator typo'd something; failing loudly beats loading garbage.
+//
+//   - The underlying fetch rides the SAME secretcache.Cache that
+//     GetEnvOrSecret uses, so no second AWS session is built. On Yandex
+//     Cloud (no AWS creds) the cache stays unbuilt because the bundle
+//     env isn't set either.
+//
+//   - os.Setenv NEVER overwrites a value already set in the environment
+//     (bundle values yield to anything the operator pinned via `env:`
+//     in client.yaml). This matches the fleet-wide expectation that
+//     literal env wins.
+//
+//   - JSON values that are not strings are rejected (an operator who
+//     seeds a nested object by accident gets a loud error, not silent
+//     flattening into Go's default string format).
+func LoadSecretBundle(ctx context.Context) error {
+	return LoadSecretBundleFromEnv(ctx, SecretsBundleEnv)
+}
+
+// LoadSecretBundleFromEnv is the explicit-env-name variant for services
+// that need a different bundle env name (e.g. staged migrations). Shares
+// LoadSecretBundle's semantics otherwise.
+func LoadSecretBundleFromEnv(ctx context.Context, envName string) error {
+	_ = ctx // kept on the signature so a future retry/timeout wrap doesn't break callers.
+
+	arn := os.Getenv(envName)
+	if arn == "" {
+		return nil
+	}
+	if !strings.HasPrefix(arn, secretsManagerArnPrefix) {
+		return fmt.Errorf("%s is set but is not a Secrets Manager ARN (got prefix %q)", envName, firstN(arn, 32))
+	}
+
+	cache, err := getSecretCache()
+	if err != nil {
+		return errors.Wrapf(err, "load secret bundle: get cache")
+	}
+	payload, err := cache.GetSecretString(arn)
+	if err != nil {
+		return errors.Wrapf(err, "load secret bundle: fetch %s", envName)
+	}
+
+	// Parse as JSON object of string values. Non-string values are a
+	// loud error — see the doc comment.
+	var raw map[string]json.RawMessage
+	if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(payload), &raw); err != nil {
+		return errors.Wrapf(err, "load secret bundle: decode JSON")
+	}
+
+	for key, msg := range raw {
+		var value string
+		if err := json.Unmarshal(msg, &value); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("load secret bundle: value for %q is not a string", key)
+		}
+		if _, present := os.LookupEnv(key); present {
+			// Operator-set env wins. Skip silently — the operator pinned
+			// a literal in client.yaml deliberately.
+			continue
+		}
+		if err := os.Setenv(key, value); err != nil {
+			return errors.Wrapf(err, "load secret bundle: setenv %q", key)
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// firstN returns the first n runes of s (safe on short strings), used for
+// bounded error messages that must not leak a long ARN or payload.
+func firstN(s string, n int) string {
+	if len(s) <= n {
+		return s
+	}
+	return s[:n] + "..."
+}
diff --git a/pkg/awsutil/secrets_test.go b/pkg/awsutil/secrets_test.go
index fb73a77..71d78a7 100644
--- a/pkg/awsutil/secrets_test.go
+++ b/pkg/awsutil/secrets_test.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package awsutil
 
 import (
+	"context"
 	"testing"
 
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
@@ -26,3 +27,38 @@ func TestGetEnvOrSecretReturnsEmptyForUnsetVariable(t *testing.T) {
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	assert.Empty(t, value)
 }
+
+// TestLoadSecretBundleUnsetIsNoop pins the "SDK pin can roll out before any
+// service opts in" contract: an unset bundle env must not error and must not
+// touch the Secrets Manager cache.
+func TestLoadSecretBundleUnsetIsNoop(t *testing.T) {
+	// Explicitly unset (t.Setenv then unset is safe for test isolation).
+	t.Setenv(SecretsBundleEnv, "")
+	require.NoError(t, LoadSecretBundle(context.Background()))
+}
+
+// TestLoadSecretBundleRejectsNonArn — operator typo'd a plain string into
+// the bundle env; fail loudly so the misconfig surfaces instead of being
+// silently ignored.
+func TestLoadSecretBundleRejectsNonArn(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Setenv(SecretsBundleEnv, "oops-not-an-arn")
+	err := LoadSecretBundle(context.Background())
+	require.Error(t, err)
+	assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "not a Secrets Manager ARN")
+}
+
+// TestLoadSecretBundleFromEnvRespectsExplicitEnvName lets a service pick
+// a bundle env name that isn't FORGE_SECRETS_BUNDLE_ARN (useful for staged
+// migrations). Default remains the constant for the common path.
+func TestLoadSecretBundleFromEnvRespectsExplicitEnvName(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Setenv("MY_OTHER_BUNDLE", "")
+	require.NoError(t, LoadSecretBundleFromEnv(context.Background(), "MY_OTHER_BUNDLE"))
+}
+
+// TestFirstN pins the error-message truncation helper (used in the
+// non-ARN rejection path to avoid leaking a long value into the log).
+func TestFirstN(t *testing.T) {
+	assert.Equal(t, "abc", firstN("abc", 10))
+	assert.Equal(t, "abcde", firstN("abcde", 5))
+	assert.Equal(t, "abc...", firstN("abcdefghij", 3))
+}