diff --git a/terraform/kafka_runner/run-test.py b/terraform/kafka_runner/run-test.py
index 256bb590e3838..203dbdcad387e 100644
--- a/terraform/kafka_runner/run-test.py
+++ b/terraform/kafka_runner/run-test.py
@@ -264,7 +264,9 @@ def main():
                     ssh_account=ssh_account,
                     instance_name=args.instance_name,
                     jdk_version=args.jdk_version,
-                    jdk_arch=args.jdk_arch
+                    jdk_arch=args.jdk_arch,
+                    JOB_ID=JOB_ID,
+                    enable_cloudwatch=args.enable_cloudwatch
                 )
             else:
                 logging.info(f"using existing ami: {args.existing_ami}")
diff --git a/terraform/kafka_runner/util.py b/terraform/kafka_runner/util.py
index e9426fbfc7372..74fe97b1998cd 100644
--- a/terraform/kafka_runner/util.py
+++ b/terraform/kafka_runner/util.py
@@ -170,6 +170,7 @@ def parse_args():
     parser.add_argument("--jdk-arch", action="store", type=str, default="x64",
                         help="JDK arch to execute."),
     parser.add_argument("--nightly", action="store_true", default=False, help="Mark this as a nightly run")
+    parser.add_argument("--enable-cloudwatch", action="store", type=parse_bool, default=False, help="Enable cloudwatch metrics if true")
     parser.add_argument("--new-globals", action="store", type=str, default=None, help="Additional global params to be passed in ducktape")
     parser.add_argument("--arm-image", action="store_true", help="load the ARM based image of specified distro")
     parser.add_argument("--existing-ami", action="store", type=str, default=None, help="AMI ID to use for the instance, skipping ami creation")
diff --git a/vagrant/aws-packer.json b/vagrant/aws-packer.json
index 6f02bbb01a20e..8270680d2e846 100644
--- a/vagrant/aws-packer.json
+++ b/vagrant/aws-packer.json
@@ -45,15 +45,23 @@
       "type": "shell",
       "inline": ["while [ ! -f /var/lib/cloud/instance/boot-finished ]; do echo 'Waiting for cloud-init...'; sleep 1; done"]
     },
+    {
+      "type": "file",
+      "source": "../vagrant/cloudwatch-agent-configuration.json",
+      "destination": "/tmp/cloudwatch-agent-configuration.json"
+    },
     {
       "environment_vars": [
         "JDK_MAJOR={{ user `jdk_version` }}",
-        "JDK_ARCH={{ user `jdk_arch` }}"
+        "JDK_ARCH={{ user `jdk_arch` }}",
+        "SEMAPHORE_JOB_ID={{ user `JOB_ID` }}",
+        "ENABLE_CLOUDWATCH={{ user `enable_cloudwatch` }}"
       ],
       "execute_command": "echo 'packer' | {{ .Vars }} sudo -E -S bash '{{ .Path }}'",
       "type": "shell",
       "scripts": [
-        "../vagrant/base.sh"
+        "../vagrant/base.sh",
+        "../vagrant/cloudwatch-agent-setup.sh"
       ]
     }
   ]
diff --git a/vagrant/cloudwatch-agent-setup.sh b/vagrant/cloudwatch-agent-setup.sh
index a3fde878d69ca..1ae6f3094d675 100644
--- a/vagrant/cloudwatch-agent-setup.sh
+++ b/vagrant/cloudwatch-agent-setup.sh
@@ -11,6 +11,13 @@
 
 set -ex
 
+if [ "${ENABLE_CLOUDWATCH,,}" = "false" ]; then
+  echo "Cloudwatch is disabled, skipping setup"
+  exit 0
+else
+  echo "CloudWatch setup enabled, installing amazon-cloudwatch-agent..."
+fi
+
 architecture=arm64
 arch=$(uname -m)