diff --git a/docker_images/c/Dockerfile b/docker_images/c/Dockerfile
index c1eb7b4c..5058299d 100644
--- a/docker_images/c/Dockerfile
+++ b/docker_images/c/Dockerfile
@@ -48,16 +48,11 @@ RUN git clone https://github.com/Corvusoft/restbed . \
     && rm -r dependency/asio/asio/src/tests \
     && rm -r dependency/asio/asio/src/examples
 
-RUN pip install --upgrade pip 
-
 WORKDIR /system_control_app
 COPY ./system_control_app .
 RUN pip install -r requirements.txt
 EXPOSE 8040
 
-# force container rebuild when switching from master to main
-RUN echo "switch to main" > /horton_tag.txt
-
 ARG HORTON_REPO
 WORKDIR /sdk
 RUN git clone https://github.com/$HORTON_REPO .
diff --git a/docker_images/node/Dockerfile.node16 b/docker_images/node/Dockerfile.node16
index b899e009..5283bf59 100644
--- a/docker_images/node/Dockerfile.node16
+++ b/docker_images/node/Dockerfile.node16
@@ -13,8 +13,6 @@ RUN update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/python python $(which python3) 50 \
 
 RUN npm install lerna -g
 
-RUN pip install --upgrade pip 
-
 RUN git config --global user.email "you@example.com" \
 &&  git config --global user.name "Your Name" \
 &&  git config --global core.autocrlf true
@@ -25,10 +23,9 @@ EXPOSE 8080
 
 WORKDIR /system_control_app
 COPY ./system_control_app .
-RUN pip install -r requirements.txt
-
-# force container rebuild when switching from master to main
-RUN echo "switch to main" > /horton_tag.txt
+# --break-system-packages is necessary because we're installing the system control app into the global package store instead of using pipx or virtualenv
+# We're not actually breaking anything. The option name just means that we _could_ break system packages if we weren't careful, but we are being careful. 
+RUN pip install -r requirements.txt --break-system-packages
 
 # phase 1: grab the base branch and run prebuild
 ARG HORTON_REPO
diff --git a/docker_images/node/Dockerfile.node18 b/docker_images/node/Dockerfile.node18
index 4a42e9d6..3a69b3ab 100644
--- a/docker_images/node/Dockerfile.node18
+++ b/docker_images/node/Dockerfile.node18
@@ -13,8 +13,6 @@ RUN update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/python python $(which python3) 50 \
 
 RUN npm install lerna -g
 
-RUN pip install --upgrade pip 
-
 RUN git config --global user.email "you@example.com" \
 &&  git config --global user.name "Your Name" \
 &&  git config --global core.autocrlf true
@@ -25,10 +23,9 @@ EXPOSE 8080
 
 WORKDIR /system_control_app
 COPY ./system_control_app .
-RUN pip install -r requirements.txt
-
-# force container rebuild when switching from master to main
-RUN echo "switch to main" > /horton_tag.txt
+# --break-system-packages is necessary because we're installing the system control app into the global package store instead of using pipx or virtualenv
+# We're not actually breaking anything. The option name just means that we _could_ break system packages if we weren't careful, but we are being careful. 
+RUN pip install -r requirements.txt --break-system-packages
 
 # phase 1: grab the base branch and run prebuild
 ARG HORTON_REPO
diff --git a/vsts/gate-horton.yaml b/vsts/gate-horton.yaml
index 074ed73b..a817a18c 100644
--- a/vsts/gate-horton.yaml
+++ b/vsts/gate-horton.yaml
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ jobs:
     vmImage: 'ubuntu-20.04'
   strategy:
     matrix:
+        node16:  { variant: node16 }
         node18:  { variant: node18 }
         c:      { language: c }
         java:   { language: java }