diff --git a/dotnet/test/E2E/RpcShellAndFleetE2ETests.cs b/dotnet/test/E2E/RpcShellAndFleetE2ETests.cs
index 1491c88a2..a35e5de41 100644
--- a/dotnet/test/E2E/RpcShellAndFleetE2ETests.cs
+++ b/dotnet/test/E2E/RpcShellAndFleetE2ETests.cs
@@ -34,7 +34,9 @@ public async Task Should_Kill_Shell_Process()
             ? "powershell -NoLogo -NoProfile -Command \"Start-Sleep -Seconds 30\""
             : "sleep 30";
 
-        var execResult = await session.Rpc.Shell.ExecAsync(command);
+        // On Windows, terminating the shell wrapper can briefly leave grandchildren alive.
+        // Keep this command outside the fixture workspace so that cleanup is not blocked by cwd handles.
+        var execResult = await session.Rpc.Shell.ExecAsync(command, cwd: Path.GetTempPath());
         Assert.False(string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(execResult.ProcessId));
 
         var killResult = await session.Rpc.Shell.KillAsync(execResult.ProcessId);
diff --git a/go/internal/e2e/rpc_shell_and_fleet_e2e_test.go b/go/internal/e2e/rpc_shell_and_fleet_e2e_test.go
index cfd7f57ba..ff7e545dd 100644
--- a/go/internal/e2e/rpc_shell_and_fleet_e2e_test.go
+++ b/go/internal/e2e/rpc_shell_and_fleet_e2e_test.go
@@ -63,7 +63,10 @@ func TestRpcShellAndFleetE2E(t *testing.T) {
 			command = "sleep 30"
 		}
 
-		exec, err := session.RPC.Shell.Exec(t.Context(), &rpc.ShellExecRequest{Command: command})
+		// On Windows, terminating the shell wrapper can briefly leave grandchildren alive.
+		// Keep this command outside the fixture workspace so cleanup is not blocked by cwd handles.
+		cwd := os.TempDir()
+		exec, err := session.RPC.Shell.Exec(t.Context(), &rpc.ShellExecRequest{Command: command, Cwd: &cwd})
 		if err != nil {
 			t.Fatalf("Failed to call session.shell.exec: %v", err)
 		}
diff --git a/nodejs/test/e2e/rpc_shell_and_fleet.e2e.test.ts b/nodejs/test/e2e/rpc_shell_and_fleet.e2e.test.ts
index b7868ea3f..ce9bed143 100644
--- a/nodejs/test/e2e/rpc_shell_and_fleet.e2e.test.ts
+++ b/nodejs/test/e2e/rpc_shell_and_fleet.e2e.test.ts
@@ -85,7 +85,9 @@ describe("Shell and fleet RPC", async () => {
                 ? `powershell -NoLogo -NoProfile -Command "Start-Sleep -Seconds 30"`
                 : "sleep 30";
 
-        const execResult = await session.rpc.shell.exec({ command });
+        // On Windows, terminating the shell wrapper can briefly leave grandchildren alive.
+        // Keep this command outside the fixture workspace so cleanup is not blocked by cwd handles.
+        const execResult = await session.rpc.shell.exec({ command, cwd: os.tmpdir() });
         expect(execResult.processId).toBeTruthy();
 
         const killResult = await session.rpc.shell.kill({ processId: execResult.processId });
diff --git a/python/e2e/test_rpc_shell_and_fleet_e2e.py b/python/e2e/test_rpc_shell_and_fleet_e2e.py
index a0d3901f7..c5384825b 100644
--- a/python/e2e/test_rpc_shell_and_fleet_e2e.py
+++ b/python/e2e/test_rpc_shell_and_fleet_e2e.py
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 
 import asyncio
 import sys
+import tempfile
 import uuid
 from pathlib import Path
 
@@ -75,7 +76,11 @@ async def test_should_kill_shell_process(self, ctx: E2ETestContext):
         else:
             command = "sleep 30"
 
-        exec_result = await session.rpc.shell.exec(ShellExecRequest(command=command))
+        # On Windows, terminating the shell wrapper can briefly leave grandchildren alive.
+        # Keep this command outside the fixture workspace so cleanup is not blocked by cwd handles.
+        exec_result = await session.rpc.shell.exec(
+            ShellExecRequest(command=command, cwd=tempfile.gettempdir())
+        )
         assert (exec_result.process_id or "").strip()
 
         kill_result = await session.rpc.shell.kill(