diff --git a/pkgs/development/web/nodejs/nodejs.nix b/pkgs/development/web/nodejs/nodejs.nix
index c56d1178c6e8..22d0c3361a68 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/web/nodejs/nodejs.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/web/nodejs/nodejs.nix
@@ -676,6 +676,9 @@ let
         done
       '';
 
+      # reduces build time from ~90 to ~15 minutes on hydra
+      requiredSystemFeatures = [ "big-parallel" ];
+
       passthru.tests = {
         version = testers.testVersion {
           package = self;