diff --git a/docker/Dockerfile.ci_qemu b/docker/Dockerfile.ci_qemu
index 9920b1f70e8b..b907ba7b08a9 100644
--- a/docker/Dockerfile.ci_qemu
+++ b/docker/Dockerfile.ci_qemu
@@ -66,6 +66,11 @@ RUN bash /install/ubuntu_install_zephyr.sh
 ENV ZEPHYR_BASE=/opt/zephyrproject/zephyr
 
 # Arduino deps
+# NOTE: override Arduino directories so packages are installed in a
+# CI-accessible location.
+ENV ARDUINO_DIRECTORIES_DATA=/arduino15-data
+ENV ARDUINO_DIRECTORIES_DOWNLOADS=/arduino15-downloads
+ENV ARDUINO_DIRECTORIES_USER=/arduino15-user
 COPY install/ubuntu_install_arduino.sh /install/ubuntu_install_arduino.sh
 RUN bash /install/ubuntu_install_arduino.sh
 
diff --git a/docker/install/ubuntu_install_arduino.sh b/docker/install/ubuntu_install_arduino.sh
index 2b4b8d80fce7..d5c4303f211b 100644
--- a/docker/install/ubuntu_install_arduino.sh
+++ b/docker/install/ubuntu_install_arduino.sh
@@ -29,3 +29,8 @@ wget -O - https://raw.githubusercontent.com/arduino/arduino-cli/master/install.s
 # Install supported cores from those URLS
 arduino-cli core install arduino:mbed_nano
 arduino-cli core install arduino:sam
+
+# ARDUINO_DIRECTORIES_USER wouldn't normally be created until we
+# install a package, which would casue chmod to fail
+mkdir -p "${ARDUINO_DIRECTORIES_DATA}" "${ARDUINO_DIRECTORIES_USER}" "${ARDUINO_DIRECTORIES_DOWNLOADS}"
+chmod -R o+rw "${ARDUINO_DIRECTORIES_DATA}" "${ARDUINO_DIRECTORIES_USER}" "${ARDUINO_DIRECTORIES_DOWNLOADS}"