diff --git a/etl/db/db.py b/etl/db/db.py
index 0bc1e6b..d4f5ab7 100644
--- a/etl/db/db.py
+++ b/etl/db/db.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 from sqlmodel import SQLModel, create_engine, Session
 from pydantic_settings import BaseSettings
 from typing import Optional, List
+from sqlalchemy.pool import QueuePool
 
 class Settings(BaseSettings):
     DATABASE_URL: Optional[str] = None  # Default to None if not set
@@ -10,8 +11,19 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
 
 settings = Settings()
 # engine to the dabatase, currently set up to connect via settings. database
-engine = create_engine(settings.DATABASE_URL) if settings.DATABASE_URL else None
-
+engine = (
+    create_engine(
+        settings.DATABASE_URL,
+        poolclass=QueuePool,          # use standard connection pool
+        pool_pre_ping=True,           # test connection before use
+        pool_recycle=300,             # reconnect every 5 minutes
+        pool_size=5,                  # limit pool size for CI/CD or serverless
+        max_overflow=2,               # allow brief overuse
+        connect_args={"sslmode": "require"},  # enforce SSL for cloud DBs
+    )
+    if settings.DATABASE_URL
+    else None
+)
 
 def get_db_session():
     if engine is None: