diff --git a/src/modules/bmm/workflows/testarch/ci/github-actions-template.yaml b/src/modules/bmm/workflows/testarch/ci/github-actions-template.yaml
index 0eefd180..9f09a73f 100644
--- a/src/modules/bmm/workflows/testarch/ci/github-actions-template.yaml
+++ b/src/modules/bmm/workflows/testarch/ci/github-actions-template.yaml
@@ -27,10 +27,21 @@ jobs:
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
+      - name: Determine Node version
+        id: node-version
+        run: |
+          if [ -f .nvmrc ]; then
+            echo "value=$(cat .nvmrc)" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+            echo "Using Node from .nvmrc"
+          else
+            echo "value=24" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+            echo "Using default Node 24 (current LTS)"
+          fi
+
       - name: Setup Node.js
         uses: actions/setup-node@v4
         with:
-          node-version-file: ".nvmrc"
+          node-version: ${{ steps.node-version.outputs.value }}
           cache: "npm"
 
       - name: Install dependencies
@@ -54,10 +65,21 @@ jobs:
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
+      - name: Determine Node version
+        id: node-version
+        run: |
+          if [ -f .nvmrc ]; then
+            echo "value=$(cat .nvmrc)" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+            echo "Using Node from .nvmrc"
+          else
+            echo "value=22" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+            echo "Using default Node 22 (current LTS)"
+          fi
+
       - name: Setup Node.js
         uses: actions/setup-node@v4
         with:
-          node-version-file: ".nvmrc"
+          node-version: ${{ steps.node-version.outputs.value }}
           cache: "npm"
 
       - name: Cache Playwright browsers
@@ -99,10 +121,21 @@ jobs:
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
+      - name: Determine Node version
+        id: node-version
+        run: |
+          if [ -f .nvmrc ]; then
+            echo "value=$(cat .nvmrc)" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+            echo "Using Node from .nvmrc"
+          else
+            echo "value=22" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+            echo "Using default Node 22 (current LTS)"
+          fi
+
       - name: Setup Node.js
         uses: actions/setup-node@v4
         with:
-          node-version-file: ".nvmrc"
+          node-version: ${{ steps.node-version.outputs.value }}
           cache: "npm"
 
       - name: Cache Playwright browsers
diff --git a/src/modules/bmm/workflows/testarch/ci/gitlab-ci-template.yaml b/src/modules/bmm/workflows/testarch/ci/gitlab-ci-template.yaml
index e3b433da..f5336de4 100644
--- a/src/modules/bmm/workflows/testarch/ci/gitlab-ci-template.yaml
+++ b/src/modules/bmm/workflows/testarch/ci/gitlab-ci-template.yaml
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ variables:
   npm_config_cache: "$CI_PROJECT_DIR/.npm"
   # Playwright browser cache
   PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSERS_PATH: "$CI_PROJECT_DIR/.cache/ms-playwright"
+  # Default Node version when .nvmrc is missing
+  DEFAULT_NODE_VERSION: "24"
 
 # Caching configuration
 cache:
@@ -29,19 +31,32 @@ cache:
 # Lint stage - Code quality checks
 lint:
   stage: lint
-  image: node:20
-  script:
+  image: node:$DEFAULT_NODE_VERSION
+  before_script:
+    - |
+      NODE_VERSION=$(cat .nvmrc 2>/dev/null || echo "$DEFAULT_NODE_VERSION")
+      echo "Using Node $NODE_VERSION"
+      npm install -g n
+      n "$NODE_VERSION"
+      node -v
     - npm ci
+  script:
     - npm run lint
   timeout: 5 minutes
 
 # Test stage - Parallel execution with sharding
 .test-template: &test-template
   stage: test
-  image: node:20
+  image: node:$DEFAULT_NODE_VERSION
   needs:
     - lint
   before_script:
+    - |
+      NODE_VERSION=$(cat .nvmrc 2>/dev/null || echo "$DEFAULT_NODE_VERSION")
+      echo "Using Node $NODE_VERSION"
+      npm install -g n
+      n "$NODE_VERSION"
+      node -v
     - npm ci
     - npx playwright install --with-deps chromium
   artifacts:
@@ -75,7 +90,7 @@ test:shard-4:
 # Burn-in stage - Flaky test detection
 burn-in:
   stage: burn-in
-  image: node:20
+  image: node:$DEFAULT_NODE_VERSION
   needs:
     - test:shard-1
     - test:shard-2
@@ -86,6 +101,12 @@ burn-in:
     - if: '$CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "merge_request_event"'
     - if: '$CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "schedule"'
   before_script:
+    - |
+      NODE_VERSION=$(cat .nvmrc 2>/dev/null || echo "$DEFAULT_NODE_VERSION")
+      echo "Using Node $NODE_VERSION"
+      npm install -g n
+      n "$NODE_VERSION"
+      node -v
     - npm ci
     - npx playwright install --with-deps chromium
   script:
diff --git a/src/modules/bmm/workflows/testarch/ci/instructions.md b/src/modules/bmm/workflows/testarch/ci/instructions.md
index 9bd87940..9241e93c 100644
--- a/src/modules/bmm/workflows/testarch/ci/instructions.md
+++ b/src/modules/bmm/workflows/testarch/ci/instructions.md
@@ -61,8 +61,8 @@ Scaffolds a production-ready CI/CD quality pipeline with test execution, burn-in
      - Ask user if unable to auto-detect
 
 5. **Read Environment Configuration**
-   - Check for `.nvmrc` to determine Node version
-   - Default to Node 20 LTS if not found
+   - Use `.nvmrc` for Node version if present
+   - If missing, default to a current LTS (Node 24) or newer instead of a fixed old version
    - Read `package.json` to identify dependencies (affects caching strategy)
 
 **Halt Condition:** If preflight checks fail, stop immediately and report which requirement failed.