diff --git a/k8s/helm/templates/core/controller-role.yaml b/k8s/helm/templates/core/controller-role.yaml
index b3a5f3604a..712eb2fb96 100644
--- a/k8s/helm/templates/core/controller-role.yaml
+++ b/k8s/helm/templates/core/controller-role.yaml
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ rules:
   verbs: ["get", "list"]
 - apiGroups: ["apps"]
   resources: ["deployments"]
-  verbs: ["get", "list", "watch"]
+  verbs: ["get", "list", "watch", "create", "delete"]
 - apiGroups: ["batch"]
   resources: ["jobs"]
   verbs: ["create", "get", "list", "watch", "update", "patch", "delete"]
@@ -28,6 +28,9 @@ rules:
 - apiGroups: [""]
   resources: ["configmaps"]
   verbs: ["get", "list", "create", "delete"]
+- apiGroups: [""]
+  resources: ["services"]
+  verbs: ["get", "list", "create", "delete"]
 - apiGroups: [""]
   resources: ["secrets"]
   verbs: ["create", "delete"]
diff --git a/plugins/nemo-deployments/README.md b/plugins/nemo-deployments/README.md
index 6b2abf8d9e..1d5e6d174d 100644
--- a/plugins/nemo-deployments/README.md
+++ b/plugins/nemo-deployments/README.md
@@ -56,3 +56,51 @@ from the hyphen-joined string, so pairs like ``foo``/``bar-baz`` and
 ``nemo_platform_plugin.k8s_naming`` (same module used by the models service).
 Orphan cleanup matches identity labels, not names alone; existing containers
 keep their old names after upgrade.
+
+## Kubernetes executors
+
+The k8s backend emits native `apps/v1.Deployment` + `v1.Service` for
+`restart_policy: Always` workloads, `batch/v1.Job` for finite (`Never`/
+`OnFailure`) workloads, and `v1.PersistentVolumeClaim` for volumes — no
+`k8s-nim-operator` dependency. Configure a named executor in platform YAML:
+
+```yaml
+deployments:
+  executors:
+    - name: local-k8s
+      backend: k8s
+      config:
+        kubeconfig_path: /path/to/kubeconfig  # unset: in-cluster config, then default kubeconfig
+        default_namespace: default  # namespace the controller's ServiceAccount has RBAC in
+        request_timeout: 60
+  default_executor: local-k8s
+```
+
+Entity-level `backend_config.k8s.namespace` overrides `default_namespace` per
+deployment/volume; it must be a namespace the controller's ServiceAccount has
+RBAC in (see below).
+
+### RBAC
+
+The `DeploymentsController` runs inside the `nmp-core` controller pod
+(registered via the `nemo.controllers` entry point), so it reuses that pod's
+existing ServiceAccount and Role rather than a dedicated one. The deploy
+chart's `k8s/helm/templates/core/controller-role.yaml` grants that Role the
+verbs the k8s backend needs in `.Release.Namespace`: `get`/`list`/`watch` on
+pods, `get`/`list` on pods/log, `create`/`get`/`list`/`watch`/`update`/`patch`/`delete` on
+`batch/v1.Job`, `get`/`list`/`create`/`delete` on PVCs, ConfigMaps, and
+Services, and `get`/`list`/`watch`/`create`/`delete` on `apps/v1.Deployment`.
+
+This Role is namespace-scoped to the release namespace. Pointing
+`backend_config.k8s.namespace` at a namespace outside the release namespace
+requires additional RBAC that the chart does not provision today;
+namespace-per-workspace provisioning is a documented future enhancement.
+
+### Native sidecars
+
+The LoRA-adapter-style native sidecar pattern (an `init_containers` entry with
+`restart_policy: "Always"`) requires Kubernetes >= 1.29. On older clusters,
+omit the per-container `restart_policy` on init containers and run that
+container as a regular main container instead — the compiler does not
+fall back to legacy sidecar emulation (emptyDir readiness files, etc.)
+automatically.
diff --git a/plugins/nemo-deployments/tests/unit/backends/k8s/test_rbac_manifest.py b/plugins/nemo-deployments/tests/unit/backends/k8s/test_rbac_manifest.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c0f3add6d0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/nemo-deployments/tests/unit/backends/k8s/test_rbac_manifest.py
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2025-2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+"""Assert the deploy chart's controller Role grants the k8s backend's required RBAC.
+
+The chart under ``k8s/helm`` declares an unconditional ``k8s-nim-operator`` chart
+dependency, so ``helm template`` cannot render without that subchart present in
+``charts/`` (fetched from an NGC repo) — a network dependency this suite must not
+require. Assertions instead parse the static YAML rule entries directly out of the
+Go-template source, which is safe because the base RBAC rules (unlike the
+Volcano/NIM-Operator blocks) are plain YAML with no Helm expressions inside them.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import re
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import pytest
+
+_CONTROLLER_ROLE_RELATIVE_PATH = Path("k8s", "helm", "templates", "core", "controller-role.yaml")
+
+
+def _repo_root() -> Path:
+    for parent in Path(__file__).resolve().parents:
+        if (parent / _CONTROLLER_ROLE_RELATIVE_PATH).is_file():
+            return parent
+    raise FileNotFoundError(f"Could not locate repo root containing {_CONTROLLER_ROLE_RELATIVE_PATH}")
+
+
+def _controller_role_source() -> str:
+    role_path = _repo_root() / _CONTROLLER_ROLE_RELATIVE_PATH
+    content = role_path.read_text()
+    # Only the Role definition (before the "---" separator) is relevant; the
+    # RoleBinding that follows has no `rules:` block to collide with.
+    role_section, _, _ = content.partition("\n---\n")
+    return role_section
+
+
+def _rule_verbs(content: str, *, api_group: str, resource: str) -> list[str]:
+    """Extract the verbs list for a ``- apiGroups: [...]\\n  resources: [...]`` rule."""
+    pattern = re.compile(
+        r'apiGroups:\s*\[\s*"{}"\s*\]\s*\n\s*resources:\s*\[\s*"{}"\s*\]\s*\n\s*verbs:\s*\[(.*?)\]'.format(
+            re.escape(api_group), re.escape(resource)
+        )
+    )
+    match = pattern.search(content)
+    assert match is not None, f"No rule found for apiGroups={api_group!r} resources={resource!r}"
+    return [verb.strip().strip('"') for verb in match.group(1).split(",")]
+
+
+def test_deployments_rule_grants_create_and_delete() -> None:
+    """The k8s backend creates and deletes apps/v1.Deployment objects."""
+    verbs = _rule_verbs(_controller_role_source(), api_group="apps", resource="deployments")
+    assert {"get", "list", "watch", "create", "delete"} <= set(verbs)
+
+
+def test_services_rule_present() -> None:
+    """The k8s backend creates a v1.Service alongside restart_policy=Always Deployments."""
+    verbs = _rule_verbs(_controller_role_source(), api_group="", resource="services")
+    assert {"get", "list", "create", "delete"} <= set(verbs)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    ("api_group", "resource", "required_verbs"),
+    [
+        ("", "pods", {"get", "list", "watch"}),
+        ("", "pods/log", {"get", "list"}),
+        ("batch", "jobs", {"create", "get", "list", "watch", "update", "patch", "delete"}),
+        ("", "persistentvolumeclaims", {"get", "list", "create", "delete"}),
+        ("", "configmaps", {"get", "list", "create", "delete"}),
+    ],
+)
+def test_base_rules_unaffected(api_group: str, resource: str, required_verbs: set[str]) -> None:
+    """Regression guard: pre-existing k8s backend RBAC rules are untouched."""
+    verbs = _rule_verbs(_controller_role_source(), api_group=api_group, resource=resource)
+    assert required_verbs <= set(verbs)