diff --git a/apps/orchestrator/src/spawner/docker-sandbox.service.spec.ts b/apps/orchestrator/src/spawner/docker-sandbox.service.spec.ts
index c7e2de1..49c51cf 100644
--- a/apps/orchestrator/src/spawner/docker-sandbox.service.spec.ts
+++ b/apps/orchestrator/src/spawner/docker-sandbox.service.spec.ts
@@ -233,19 +233,52 @@ describe("DockerSandboxService", () => {
   });
 
   describe("removeContainer", () => {
-    it("should remove a container by ID", async () => {
+    it("should gracefully stop and remove a container by ID", async () => {
       const containerId = "container-123";
 
       await service.removeContainer(containerId);
 
       expect(mockDocker.getContainer).toHaveBeenCalledWith(containerId);
+      expect(mockContainer.stop).toHaveBeenCalledWith({ t: 10 });
+      expect(mockContainer.remove).toHaveBeenCalledWith({ force: false });
+    });
+
+    it("should fall back to force remove when graceful stop fails", async () => {
+      const containerId = "container-123";
+
+      (mockContainer.stop as ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>).mockRejectedValueOnce(
+        new Error("Container already stopped")
+      );
+
+      await service.removeContainer(containerId);
+
+      expect(mockContainer.stop).toHaveBeenCalledWith({ t: 10 });
       expect(mockContainer.remove).toHaveBeenCalledWith({ force: true });
     });
 
-    it("should throw error if container removal fails", async () => {
+    it("should fall back to force remove when graceful remove fails", async () => {
       const containerId = "container-123";
 
-      (mockContainer.remove as ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>).mockRejectedValue(
+      (mockContainer.remove as ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>)
+        .mockRejectedValueOnce(new Error("Container still running"))
+        .mockResolvedValueOnce(undefined);
+
+      await service.removeContainer(containerId);
+
+      expect(mockContainer.stop).toHaveBeenCalledWith({ t: 10 });
+      // First call: graceful remove (force: false) - fails
+      expect(mockContainer.remove).toHaveBeenNthCalledWith(1, { force: false });
+      // Second call: force remove (force: true) - succeeds
+      expect(mockContainer.remove).toHaveBeenNthCalledWith(2, { force: true });
+    });
+
+    it("should throw error if both graceful and force removal fail", async () => {
+      const containerId = "container-123";
+
+      (mockContainer.stop as ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>).mockRejectedValueOnce(
+        new Error("Stop failed")
+      );
+      (mockContainer.remove as ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>).mockRejectedValueOnce(
         new Error("Container not found")
       );
 
@@ -253,6 +286,31 @@ describe("DockerSandboxService", () => {
         "Failed to remove container container-123"
       );
     });
+
+    it("should use configurable graceful stop timeout", async () => {
+      const customConfigService = {
+        get: vi.fn((key: string, defaultValue?: unknown) => {
+          const config: Record<string, unknown> = {
+            "orchestrator.docker.socketPath": "/var/run/docker.sock",
+            "orchestrator.sandbox.enabled": true,
+            "orchestrator.sandbox.defaultImage": "node:20-alpine",
+            "orchestrator.sandbox.defaultMemoryMB": 512,
+            "orchestrator.sandbox.defaultCpuLimit": 1.0,
+            "orchestrator.sandbox.networkMode": "bridge",
+            "orchestrator.sandbox.gracefulStopTimeoutSeconds": 30,
+          };
+          return config[key] !== undefined ? config[key] : defaultValue;
+        }),
+      } as unknown as ConfigService;
+
+      const customService = new DockerSandboxService(customConfigService, mockDocker);
+      const containerId = "container-123";
+
+      await customService.removeContainer(containerId);
+
+      expect(mockContainer.stop).toHaveBeenCalledWith({ t: 30 });
+      expect(mockContainer.remove).toHaveBeenCalledWith({ force: false });
+    });
   });
 
   describe("getContainerStatus", () => {
@@ -280,24 +338,30 @@ describe("DockerSandboxService", () => {
   });
 
   describe("cleanup", () => {
-    it("should stop and remove container", async () => {
+    it("should stop and remove container gracefully", async () => {
       const containerId = "container-123";
 
       await service.cleanup(containerId);
 
+      // cleanup calls stopContainer first, then removeContainer
+      // stopContainer sends stop({ t: 10 })
+      // removeContainer also tries stop({ t: 10 }) then remove({ force: false })
       expect(mockContainer.stop).toHaveBeenCalledWith({ t: 10 });
-      expect(mockContainer.remove).toHaveBeenCalledWith({ force: true });
+      expect(mockContainer.remove).toHaveBeenCalledWith({ force: false });
     });
 
-    it("should remove container even if stop fails", async () => {
+    it("should remove container even if initial stop fails", async () => {
       const containerId = "container-123";
 
+      // First stop call (from cleanup's stopContainer) fails
+      // Second stop call (from removeContainer's graceful attempt) also fails
       (mockContainer.stop as ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>).mockRejectedValue(
         new Error("Container already stopped")
       );
 
       await service.cleanup(containerId);
 
+      // removeContainer falls back to force remove after graceful stop fails
       expect(mockContainer.remove).toHaveBeenCalledWith({ force: true });
     });
 
diff --git a/apps/orchestrator/src/spawner/docker-sandbox.service.ts b/apps/orchestrator/src/spawner/docker-sandbox.service.ts
index d0eabbd..fd52c18 100644
--- a/apps/orchestrator/src/spawner/docker-sandbox.service.ts
+++ b/apps/orchestrator/src/spawner/docker-sandbox.service.ts
@@ -81,6 +81,7 @@ export class DockerSandboxService {
   private readonly defaultNetworkMode: string;
   private readonly envWhitelist: readonly string[];
   private readonly defaultSecurityOptions: Required<DockerSecurityOptions>;
+  private readonly gracefulStopTimeoutSeconds: number;
 
   constructor(
     private readonly configService: ConfigService,
@@ -144,6 +145,11 @@ export class DockerSandboxService {
       noNewPrivileges: configNoNewPrivileges ?? DEFAULT_SECURITY_OPTIONS.noNewPrivileges,
     };
 
+    this.gracefulStopTimeoutSeconds = this.configService.get<number>(
+      "orchestrator.sandbox.gracefulStopTimeoutSeconds",
+      10
+    );
+
     // Validate default image tag at startup to fail fast on misconfiguration
     this.validateImageTag(this.defaultImage);
 
@@ -336,15 +342,34 @@ export class DockerSandboxService {
   }
 
   /**
-   * Remove a Docker container
+   * Remove a Docker container with graceful shutdown.
+   * First attempts to gracefully stop the container (SIGTERM with configurable timeout),
+   * then removes it without force. If graceful stop fails, falls back to force remove (SIGKILL).
    * @param containerId Container ID to remove
    */
   async removeContainer(containerId: string): Promise<void> {
+    this.logger.log(`Removing container: ${containerId}`);
+    const container = this.docker.getContainer(containerId);
+
+    // Try graceful stop first (SIGTERM with timeout), then non-force remove
+    try {
+      this.logger.log(
+        `Attempting graceful stop of container ${containerId} (timeout: ${this.gracefulStopTimeoutSeconds.toString()}s)`
+      );
+      await container.stop({ t: this.gracefulStopTimeoutSeconds });
+      await container.remove({ force: false });
+      this.logger.log(`Container gracefully stopped and removed: ${containerId}`);
+      return;
+    } catch (gracefulError) {
+      this.logger.warn(
+        `Graceful stop failed for container ${containerId}, falling back to force remove: ${gracefulError instanceof Error ? gracefulError.message : String(gracefulError)}`
+      );
+    }
+
+    // Fallback: force remove (SIGKILL)
     try {
-      this.logger.log(`Removing container: ${containerId}`);
-      const container = this.docker.getContainer(containerId);
       await container.remove({ force: true });
-      this.logger.log(`Container removed successfully: ${containerId}`);
+      this.logger.log(`Container force-removed: ${containerId}`);
     } catch (error) {
       const enhancedError = error instanceof Error ? error : new Error(String(error));
       enhancedError.message = `Failed to remove container ${containerId}: ${enhancedError.message}`;