diff --git a/ws.Dockerfile b/ws.Dockerfile
index 117236e8350c7c7ff8c882f871bed1c38fe8631f..ff5a4a6db31c4f2baf73337399cc9dcd1c7169d9 100644
--- a/ws.Dockerfile
+++ b/ws.Dockerfile
@@ -33,7 +33,9 @@ ARG CI_COMMIT_BRANCH=null
 
 COPY . .
 
+USER root
 RUN ./gradlew assemble
+USER usgs-user
 
 ####
 # Application image: Run jar file.