diff --git a/.changeset/unlucky-pens-search.md b/.changeset/unlucky-pens-search.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4786c14691
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/unlucky-pens-search.md
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+'@backstage/plugin-scaffolder-backend': patch
+---
+
+When using node 20+ the `scaffolder-backend` will now throw an error at startup if the `--no-node-snapshot` option was
+not provided to node.
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index fd6e2edbc3..71d6b2e56a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -190,7 +190,7 @@ jobs:
 
     env:
       CI: true
-      NODE_OPTIONS: --max-old-space-size=4096
+      NODE_OPTIONS: ${{ matrix.node-version == '20.x' && '--max-old-space-size=4096 --no-node-snapshot' || '--max-old-space-size=4096' }}
       INTEGRATION_TEST_GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.INTEGRATION_TEST_GITHUB_TOKEN }}
       INTEGRATION_TEST_GITLAB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.INTEGRATION_TEST_GITLAB_TOKEN }}
       INTEGRATION_TEST_BITBUCKET_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.INTEGRATION_TEST_BITBUCKET_TOKEN }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/verify_e2e-linux.yml b/.github/workflows/verify_e2e-linux.yml
index 3f403b2c91..0fe258b740 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/verify_e2e-linux.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/verify_e2e-linux.yml
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ jobs:
 
     env:
       CI: true
-      NODE_OPTIONS: --max-old-space-size=4096
+      NODE_OPTIONS: ${{ matrix.node-version == '20.x' && '--max-old-space-size=8192 --no-node-snapshot' || '--max-old-space-size=8192' }}
 
     name: E2E Linux ${{ matrix.node-version }}
     steps:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/verify_e2e-windows.yml b/.github/workflows/verify_e2e-windows.yml
index d549ac2a40..395dbe0b7f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/verify_e2e-windows.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/verify_e2e-windows.yml
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ jobs:
 
     env:
       CI: true
-      NODE_OPTIONS: --max-old-space-size=8192
+      NODE_OPTIONS: ${{ matrix.node-version == '20.x' && '--max-old-space-size=8192 --no-node-snapshot' || '--max-old-space-size=8192' }}
 
     name: E2E Windows ${{ matrix.node-version }}
     steps:
diff --git a/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/service/helpers.ts b/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/service/helpers.ts
index 3412fec2d3..9e271a9d79 100644
--- a/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/service/helpers.ts
+++ b/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/service/helpers.ts
@@ -107,3 +107,42 @@ export async function findTemplate(options: {
 
   return template as TemplateEntityV1beta3;
 }
+
+/**
+ * Checks if the '--no-node-snapshot' option is included in the NODE_OPTIONS environment variable
+ * or not included in the command line arguments.
+ *
+ * @remarks
+ * This function checks whether the '--no-node-snapshot' option is part of the NODE_OPTIONS environment
+ * variable or is missing from the command line arguments. If either condition is met, the function returns `true`.
+ * This check is especially important when using the "isolated-vm" package with Node.js version 20.x or later.
+ *
+ * According to the "isolated-vm" documentation on GitHub (https://github.com/laverdet/isolated-vm),
+ * if you are using a version of Node.js 20.x or later and you don't pass the '--no-node-snapshot' option,
+ * it can cause the process to crash. This function helps prevent such crashes by ensuring that the option
+ * is correctly provided.
+ *
+ * @returns {boolean} Returns `true` if the '--no-node-snapshot' option is included in the NODE_OPTIONS
+ * environment variable or not included in the command line arguments. Otherwise, it returns `false`.
+ */
+export function isNoNodeSnapshotOptionProvided(): boolean {
+  return (
+    process.env.NODE_OPTIONS?.includes('--no-node-snapshot') ||
+    process.argv.includes('--no-node-snapshot')
+  );
+}
+
+/**
+ * Gets the major version of the currently running Node.js process.
+ *
+ * @remarks
+ * This function extracts the major version from `process.versions.node` (a string representing the Node.js version),
+ * which includes the major, minor, and patch versions. It splits this string by the `.` character to get an array
+ * of these versions, and then parses the first element of this array (the major version) to a number.
+ *
+ * @returns {number} The major version of the currently running Node.js process.
+ */
+export function getMajorNodeVersion(): number {
+  const version = process.versions.node;
+  return parseInt(version.split('.')[0], 10);
+}
diff --git a/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/service/router.ts b/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/service/router.ts
index c0322af283..dec3dcf69a 100644
--- a/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/service/router.ts
+++ b/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/service/router.ts
@@ -61,7 +61,13 @@ import {
 } from '../scaffolder';
 import { createDryRunner } from '../scaffolder/dryrun';
 import { StorageTaskBroker } from '../scaffolder/tasks/StorageTaskBroker';
-import { findTemplate, getEntityBaseUrl, getWorkingDirectory } from './helpers';
+import {
+  findTemplate,
+  getEntityBaseUrl,
+  getMajorNodeVersion,
+  getWorkingDirectory,
+  isNoNodeSnapshotOptionProvided,
+} from './helpers';
 import {
   IdentityApi,
   IdentityApiGetIdentityRequest,
@@ -260,6 +266,14 @@ export async function createRouter(
 
   const logger = parentLogger.child({ plugin: 'scaffolder' });
 
+  const nodeVersion = getMajorNodeVersion();
+  if (nodeVersion >= 20 && !isNoNodeSnapshotOptionProvided()) {
+    throw new Error(
+      'When using node v20+ Scaffolder requires that node be started with the --no-node-snapshot option. Please restart ' +
+        'Backstage providing the node --no-node-snapshot option.',
+    );
+  }
+
   const identity: IdentityApi =
     options.identity || buildDefaultIdentityClient(options);
   const workingDirectory = await getWorkingDirectory(config, logger);