diff --git a/.dockerignore b/.dockerignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e698697
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.dockerignore
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+.git
+.github
+**/target
+**/node_modules
+**/.next
+**/coverage
+**/.turbo
+**/.cache
+**/*.pdb
+**/*.exe
+Dockerfile.ci
+.dockerignore
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 9899a37..1263dfa 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -10,6 +10,36 @@ env:
   CARGO_TERM_COLOR: always
 
 jobs:
+  docker-layer-cache:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        include:
+          - name: rust-root
+            target: rust-root-test
+          - name: contracts
+            target: contracts-test
+          - name: wasm
+            target: wasm-build
+          - name: meter-simulator
+            target: meter-simulator-test
+          - name: usage-dashboard
+            target: usage-dashboard-build
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - name: Set up Docker Buildx
+        uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v3
+      - name: Build ${{ matrix.name }} with GitHub Actions cache
+        uses: docker/build-push-action@v6
+        with:
+          context: .
+          file: Dockerfile.ci
+          target: ${{ matrix.target }}
+          push: false
+          cache-from: type=gha,scope=${{ matrix.name }}
+          cache-to: type=gha,scope=${{ matrix.name }},mode=max
+
   test-and-lint:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
@@ -53,4 +83,4 @@ jobs:
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
         with:
           name: wasm-artifacts
-          path: target/wasm32-unknown-unknown/release/*.wasm
\ No newline at end of file
+          path: target/wasm32-unknown-unknown/release/*.wasm
diff --git a/Dockerfile.ci b/Dockerfile.ci
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..75a2af9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Dockerfile.ci
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1.7
+
+ARG RUST_VERSION=stable
+ARG NODE_VERSION=20
+
+FROM rust:${RUST_VERSION}-bookworm AS rust-base
+WORKDIR /workspace
+RUN rustup target add wasm32-unknown-unknown \
+    && rustup component add rustfmt clippy
+
+FROM rust-base AS rust-root-deps
+COPY Cargo.toml Cargo.lock ./
+COPY main.rs ./main.rs
+RUN --mount=type=cache,target=/usr/local/cargo/registry \
+    --mount=type=cache,target=/usr/local/cargo/git \
+    --mount=type=cache,target=/workspace/target \
+    cargo fetch --locked
+
+FROM rust-root-deps AS rust-root-test
+COPY . .
+RUN --mount=type=cache,target=/usr/local/cargo/registry \
+    --mount=type=cache,target=/usr/local/cargo/git \
+    --mount=type=cache,target=/workspace/target \
+    cargo fmt --all -- --check \
+    && cargo clippy --all-targets --all-features -- -D warnings \
+    && cargo test --locked
+
+FROM rust-base AS contracts-deps
+WORKDIR /workspace/contracts
+COPY contracts/Cargo.toml contracts/Cargo.lock ./
+COPY contracts/common/Cargo.toml ./common/Cargo.toml
+COPY contracts/meter-aggregator/Cargo.toml ./meter-aggregator/Cargo.toml
+COPY contracts/price_oracle/Cargo.toml ./price_oracle/Cargo.toml
+COPY contracts/resource-token/Cargo.toml ./resource-token/Cargo.toml
+COPY contracts/settlement/Cargo.toml ./settlement/Cargo.toml
+COPY contracts/utility_contracts/Cargo.toml ./utility_contracts/Cargo.toml
+RUN for crate in common meter-aggregator price_oracle resource-token settlement utility_contracts; do \
+      mkdir -p "${crate}/src"; \
+      printf 'pub fn placeholder() {}\n' > "${crate}/src/lib.rs"; \
+    done
+RUN --mount=type=cache,target=/usr/local/cargo/registry \
+    --mount=type=cache,target=/usr/local/cargo/git \
+    --mount=type=cache,target=/workspace/contracts/target \
+    cargo fetch --locked
+
+FROM contracts-deps AS contracts-test
+WORKDIR /workspace/contracts
+COPY contracts .
+RUN --mount=type=cache,target=/usr/local/cargo/registry \
+    --mount=type=cache,target=/usr/local/cargo/git \
+    --mount=type=cache,target=/workspace/contracts/target \
+    cargo fmt --all -- --check \
+    && cargo clippy --all-targets --all-features -- -D warnings \
+    && cargo test --locked
+
+FROM contracts-test AS wasm-build
+RUN --mount=type=cache,target=/usr/local/cargo/registry \
+    --mount=type=cache,target=/usr/local/cargo/git \
+    --mount=type=cache,target=/workspace/contracts/target \
+    cargo build --target wasm32-unknown-unknown --release --locked
+
+FROM node:${NODE_VERSION}-bookworm-slim AS meter-simulator-deps
+WORKDIR /workspace/meter-simulator
+COPY meter-simulator/package.json ./
+RUN --mount=type=cache,target=/root/.npm npm install
+
+FROM meter-simulator-deps AS meter-simulator-test
+COPY meter-simulator ./
+RUN npm test
+
+FROM node:${NODE_VERSION}-bookworm-slim AS usage-dashboard-deps
+WORKDIR /workspace/usage-dashboard
+COPY usage-dashboard/package.json ./
+RUN --mount=type=cache,target=/root/.npm npm install
+
+FROM usage-dashboard-deps AS usage-dashboard-build
+COPY usage-dashboard ./
+ENV NEXT_TELEMETRY_DISABLED=1
+RUN npm run build
+
+FROM scratch AS ci-summary
+COPY --from=rust-root-test /workspace/Cargo.toml /rust-root/Cargo.toml
+COPY --from=contracts-test /workspace/contracts/Cargo.toml /contracts/Cargo.toml
+COPY --from=meter-simulator-test /workspace/meter-simulator/package.json /meter-simulator/package.json
+COPY --from=usage-dashboard-build /workspace/usage-dashboard/package.json /usage-dashboard/package.json
diff --git a/docs/CI_DOCKER_LAYER_CACHING.md b/docs/CI_DOCKER_LAYER_CACHING.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..da3d82e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/CI_DOCKER_LAYER_CACHING.md
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+# CI Docker Layer Caching Runbook
+
+## Architecture
+
+CI uses `Dockerfile.ci` as a BuildKit cache boundary for the repository's runnable services:
+
+- root Rust payload generator (`rust-root-test` target),
+- Soroban utility contracts (`contracts-test` and `wasm-build` targets),
+- meter simulator (`meter-simulator-test` target), and
+- usage dashboard (`usage-dashboard-build` target).
+
+Each target copies dependency manifests before source files so dependency layers are reused when application code changes. BuildKit cache mounts persist Cargo registries, Cargo git checkouts, Rust `target` directories, and npm package downloads within the layer graph. GitHub Actions stores and restores those layers with `type=gha` caches scoped per service target.
+
+## CI behavior
+
+The `docker-layer-cache` job builds every service target with `docker/build-push-action` and `push: false`. The job is intentionally non-publishing: it validates image buildability and warms cache metadata only. Existing native Rust jobs continue to produce test output and WASM artifacts.
+
+## Monitoring and alerting
+
+Use the GitHub Actions run summary for these operational checks:
+
+1. The `docker-layer-cache` job should stay green on all pull requests.
+2. Repeated cache misses are visible as unusually long BuildKit dependency steps such as `cargo fetch` or `npm install`.
+3. A failed `docker-layer-cache` job blocks merges through required status checks when branch protection is enabled.
+
+## Blue-green and canary rollout
+
+Roll out cache changes by first opening a pull request and validating the new cache scopes on that PR. Treat the pull request branch as the canary. After merge, `main` becomes the green environment while previous workflow runs remain the blue fallback reference. If build times regress or cache keys poison, revert the workflow and `Dockerfile.ci` changes; GitHub's `type=gha` cache scopes are isolated by target name, so removing a target stops consuming the affected cache.
+
+## Security review notes
+
+- The Docker workflow does not push images or export secrets.
+- `.dockerignore` excludes VCS metadata, local dependency folders, build outputs, coverage data, and binary artifacts from Docker build contexts.
+- BuildKit cache mounts are used only for package manager caches and compiler outputs.