diff --git a/testutils/kube/exec.go b/testutils/kube/exec.go
index 448728d..25d5dc7 100644
--- a/testutils/kube/exec.go
+++ b/testutils/kube/exec.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"strings"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/solo-io/go-utils/testutils/kubectl"
 )
@@ -75,6 +76,10 @@ func ExecFromEphemeralPod(ctx context.Context, params EphemeralPodParams) (strin
 		Logger:           params.Logger,
 	})
 
+	// this smells; fix it
+	// wait so the ephemeral container has a chance to be created before attempting to exec against it
+	time.Sleep(time.Second)
+
 	execArgs := []string{
 		"exec",
 		fmt.Sprintf("--container=%s", params.FromContainer),