diff --git a/flytepropeller/go.mod b/flytepropeller/go.mod
index 1bf5324863..05c6933acf 100644
--- a/flytepropeller/go.mod
+++ b/flytepropeller/go.mod
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/golang/protobuf v1.4.3
 	github.com/google/uuid v1.2.0
 	github.com/grpc-ecosystem/go-grpc-middleware v1.1.0
+	github.com/imdario/mergo v0.3.11 // indirect
 	github.com/magiconair/properties v1.8.4
 	github.com/mitchellh/mapstructure v1.4.1
 	github.com/pkg/errors v0.9.1
diff --git a/flytepropeller/manager/manager.go b/flytepropeller/manager/manager.go
index fd3cc6e9b8..5b7538fe2e 100644
--- a/flytepropeller/manager/manager.go
+++ b/flytepropeller/manager/manager.go
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ import (
 	"github.com/flyteorg/flytestdlib/logger"
 	"github.com/flyteorg/flytestdlib/promutils"
 
+	"github.com/imdario/mergo"
+
 	"github.com/prometheus/client_golang/prometheus"
 
 	v1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
@@ -163,15 +165,24 @@ func (m *Manager) createPods(ctx context.Context) error {
 	errs := stderrors.ErrorCollection{}
 	for i, podName := range podNames {
 		if exists := podExists[podName]; !exists {
+			baseObjectMeta := podTemplate.Template.ObjectMeta.DeepCopy()
+			objectMeta := metav1.ObjectMeta{
+				Annotations:     podAnnotations,
+				Name:            podName,
+				Namespace:       m.podNamespace,
+				Labels:          podLabels,
+				OwnerReferences: m.ownerReferences,
+			}
+
+			err = mergo.Merge(baseObjectMeta, objectMeta, mergo.WithOverride, mergo.WithAppendSlice)
+			if err != nil {
+				errs.Append(fmt.Errorf("failed to initialize pod ObjectMeta for '%s' [%v]", podName, err))
+				continue
+			}
+
 			pod := &v1.Pod{
-				ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
-					Annotations:     podAnnotations,
-					Name:            podName,
-					Namespace:       m.podNamespace,
-					Labels:          podLabels,
-					OwnerReferences: m.ownerReferences,
-				},
-				Spec: *podTemplate.Template.Spec.DeepCopy(),
+				ObjectMeta: *baseObjectMeta,
+				Spec:       *podTemplate.Template.Spec.DeepCopy(),
 			}
 
 			err := m.shardStrategy.UpdatePodSpec(&pod.Spec, m.podTemplateContainerName, i)
diff --git a/flytepropeller/manager/manager_test.go b/flytepropeller/manager/manager_test.go
index 9eb831d8b6..3886970063 100644
--- a/flytepropeller/manager/manager_test.go
+++ b/flytepropeller/manager/manager_test.go
@@ -25,6 +25,15 @@ var (
 			ResourceVersion: "0",
 		},
 		Template: v1.PodTemplateSpec{
+			ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
+				Annotations: map[string]string{
+					"foo": "bar",
+				},
+				Labels: map[string]string{
+					"app": "foo",
+					"bar": "baz",
+				},
+			},
 			Spec: v1.PodSpec{
 				Containers: []v1.Container{
 					v1.Container{
@@ -84,6 +93,12 @@ func TestCreatePods(t *testing.T) {
 			assert.NoError(t, err)
 			assert.Equal(t, tt.shardStrategy.GetPodCount(), len(pods.Items))
 
+			for _, pod := range pods.Items {
+				assert.Equal(t, pod.Annotations["foo"], "bar")
+				assert.Equal(t, pod.Labels["app"], "flytepropeller")
+				assert.Equal(t, pod.Labels["bar"], "baz")
+			}
+
 			// execute again to ensure no new pods are created
 			err = manager.createPods(ctx)
 			assert.NoError(t, err)