diff --git a/nemo_rl/models/generation/vllm.py b/nemo_rl/models/generation/vllm.py
index fa07030863..a99022e30f 100644
--- a/nemo_rl/models/generation/vllm.py
+++ b/nemo_rl/models/generation/vllm.py
@@ -346,7 +346,16 @@ def _patch_vllm_init_workers_ray():
             self.llm = AsyncLLM.from_engine_args(AsyncEngineArgs(**llm_kwargs))
         else:
             self.llm = vllm.LLM(**llm_kwargs)
-            self.vllm_device_ids = self.report_device_id()
+
+        # will be initialized in post_init
+        # used in update_weights_from_ipc_handles
+        self.vllm_device_ids = None
+
+    def post_init(self):
+        self.vllm_device_ids = self.report_device_id()
+
+    async def post_init_async(self):
+        self.vllm_device_ids = await self.report_device_id_async()
 
     def init_collective(
         self, rank_prefix: int, ip: str, port: int, world_size: int
@@ -1386,6 +1395,10 @@ def __init__(
                 env_vars=env_vars,
             )
 
+        # Call some collective rpc functions in VllmGenerationWorker when initializing the vLLM engine
+        # This is necessary for async engine to work
+        self._post_init()
+
         # Number of data parallel groups is the number of tied worker groups
         self.dp_size = self.worker_group.dp_size
 
@@ -1526,6 +1539,19 @@ def _report_device_id(self) -> list[list[str]]:
         results = ray.get(futures)
         return results
 
+    def _post_init(self):
+        # Choose the appropriate method based on async_engine setting
+        method_name = (
+            "post_init_async" if self.cfg["vllm_cfg"]["async_engine"] else "post_init"
+        )
+        # Use run_all_workers_single_data for methods that don't need data
+        futures = self.worker_group.run_all_workers_single_data(
+            method_name, run_rank_0_only_axes=["tensor_parallel", "pipeline_parallel"]
+        )
+        # Wait for all futures to complete
+        results = ray.get(futures)
+        return results
+
     def init_collective(
         self, ip: str, port: int, world_size: int
     ) -> list[ray.ObjectRef]: