diff --git a/.github/workflows/kind-ci-automation.yaml b/.github/workflows/kind-ci-automation.yaml
index d21f8f2d4c8..6e88a3279bd 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/kind-ci-automation.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/kind-ci-automation.yaml
@@ -5,6 +5,10 @@ on:
     branches:
       - "master"
       - "v*"
+  push:
+    branches:
+      - "master"
+      - "v*"
 
 env:
   IMG: gitops-operator:test
diff --git a/hack/scripts/eks-cluster.sh b/hack/scripts/eks-cluster.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..49b93256e23
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hack/scripts/eks-cluster.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+#
+# Manage an AWS EKS cluster (3 nodes) suitable for Argo CD HA.
+#
+# Usage:
+#   ./eks-cluster.sh create  [CLUSTER_NAME] [REGION] [AWS_PROFILE]
+#   ./eks-cluster.sh delete  [CLUSTER_NAME] [REGION] [AWS_PROFILE]
+#   ./eks-cluster.sh status  [CLUSTER_NAME] [REGION] [AWS_PROFILE]
+#
+# Defaults:
+#   CLUSTER_NAME = argocd-xks
+#   REGION       = us-east-1
+#   AWS_PROFILE  = default
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+usage() {
+  echo "Usage: $0 {create|delete|status} [CLUSTER_NAME] [REGION]"
+  exit 1
+}
+
+[[ $# -ge 1 ]] || usage
+
+ACTION="$1"; shift
+CLUSTER_NAME="${1:-argocd-xks}"
+REGION="${2:-us-east-1}"
+AWS_PROFILE="${3:-default}"
+
+K8S_VERSION="1.30"
+NODE_TYPE="m5.xlarge"
+NODE_COUNT=3
+NODE_VOLUME_SIZE=100
+
+required_cmds=(aws eksctl)
+[[ "${ACTION}" == "create" || "${ACTION}" == "status" ]] && required_cmds+=(kubectl)
+for cmd in "${required_cmds[@]}"; do
+  if ! command -v "${cmd}" &>/dev/null; then
+    echo "ERROR: ${cmd} not found in PATH" >&2
+    exit 1
+  fi
+done
+
+cmd_create() {
+  echo "==> Creating EKS cluster: ${CLUSTER_NAME} in ${REGION}"
+  echo "    Kubernetes ${K8S_VERSION}, ${NODE_COUNT}x ${NODE_TYPE}, ${NODE_VOLUME_SIZE}GiB volumes"
+
+  eksctl create cluster --profile ${AWS_PROFILE} \
+    --name "${CLUSTER_NAME}" \
+    --region "${REGION}" \
+    --version "${K8S_VERSION}" \
+    --nodegroup-name "argocd-workers" \
+    --node-type "${NODE_TYPE}" \
+    --nodes "${NODE_COUNT}" \
+    --nodes-min "${NODE_COUNT}" \
+    --nodes-max "${NODE_COUNT}" \
+    --node-volume-size "${NODE_VOLUME_SIZE}" \
+    --managed \
+    --with-oidc \
+    --ssh-access=false \
+    --asg-access
+
+  echo "==> Cluster ready"
+  kubectl get nodes -o wide
+}
+
+cmd_delete() {
+  echo "==> This will DELETE cluster '${CLUSTER_NAME}' in ${REGION} and all associated resources"
+  if [[ "${FORCE:-false}" != "true" ]]; then
+    read -rp "    Continue? [y/N] " confirm
+    [[ "${confirm}" =~ ^[Yy]$ ]] || { echo "Aborted."; exit 0; }
+  fi
+
+  echo "==> Deleting EKS cluster: ${CLUSTER_NAME}"
+  eksctl delete cluster \
+    --name "${CLUSTER_NAME}" \
+    --region "${REGION}" \
+    --wait
+
+  echo "==> Cleanup complete"
+}
+
+cmd_status() {
+  echo "==> Cluster: ${CLUSTER_NAME} (${REGION})"
+  if eksctl get cluster --name "${CLUSTER_NAME}" --region "${REGION}" 2>/dev/null; then
+    echo ""
+    echo "==> Nodes:"
+    kubectl get nodes -o wide 2>/dev/null || echo "    (kubectl not configured for this cluster)"
+  else
+    echo "    Cluster not found"
+  fi
+}
+
+case "${ACTION}" in
+  create) cmd_create ;;
+  delete) cmd_delete ;;
+  status) cmd_status ;;
+  *)      usage ;;
+esac