diff --git a/scripts/e2e/lib/bundled-plugin-install-uninstall/runtime-smoke.mjs b/scripts/e2e/lib/bundled-plugin-install-uninstall/runtime-smoke.mjs
index 69cea1f7ac5..f33721494e5 100644
--- a/scripts/e2e/lib/bundled-plugin-install-uninstall/runtime-smoke.mjs
+++ b/scripts/e2e/lib/bundled-plugin-install-uninstall/runtime-smoke.mjs
@@ -502,6 +502,10 @@ async function assertNoPackageManagerChildren(pid) {
       );
     }
   } catch (error) {
+    if (error?.code === "ENOENT") {
+      console.log("Runtime deps child-process watchdog skipped: pgrep unavailable");
+      return;
+    }
     if (error instanceof Error && error.message.includes("failed with 1")) {
       return;
     }