diff --git a/misk-aws/src/main/kotlin/misk/jobqueue/sqs/SqsJobConsumer.kt b/misk-aws/src/main/kotlin/misk/jobqueue/sqs/SqsJobConsumer.kt
index b17c8cb3dd1..94b24166d11 100644
--- a/misk-aws/src/main/kotlin/misk/jobqueue/sqs/SqsJobConsumer.kt
+++ b/misk-aws/src/main/kotlin/misk/jobqueue/sqs/SqsJobConsumer.kt
@@ -110,6 +110,8 @@ internal constructor(
   internal abstract inner class QueueReceiver(queueName: QueueName) {
     val queue = queues.getForReceiving(queueName)
     protected val shouldKeepRunning = AtomicBoolean(true)
+    private var cachedConsumerCount: Int? = null
+    private var cacheExpiry: Instant = Instant.MIN
 
     protected abstract fun receive(): List<Status>
 
@@ -122,8 +124,18 @@ internal constructor(
         log.info { "shutting down receiver for ${queue.queueName}" }
         return Status.NO_RESCHEDULE
       }
-      val size = sqsConsumerAllocator.computeSqsConsumersForPod(queue.name, receiverPolicy)
-      val futures = List(size) { CompletableFuture.supplyAsync({ receive() }, receivingThreads) }
+      val now = clock.instant()
+      val size = if (cachedConsumerCount == null || now.isAfter(cacheExpiry)) {
+        sqsConsumerAllocator.computeSqsConsumersForPod(queue.name, receiverPolicy).also {
+          cachedConsumerCount = it
+          cacheExpiry = now.plusSeconds(10)
+        }
+      } else {
+        cachedConsumerCount!!
+      }
+      val futures = List(size) {
+        CompletableFuture.supplyAsync({ receive() }, receivingThreads)
+      }
 
       // Either all messages are consumed and processed successfully, or we signal failure.
       // If none of the received consume any messages, return NO_WORK for backoff.