diff --git a/nixos/lib/test-driver/src/test_driver/machine/__init__.py b/nixos/lib/test-driver/src/test_driver/machine/__init__.py
index db96445af912..b4eceee8c6fc 100644
--- a/nixos/lib/test-driver/src/test_driver/machine/__init__.py
+++ b/nixos/lib/test-driver/src/test_driver/machine/__init__.py
@@ -1684,6 +1684,7 @@ class NspawnMachine(BaseMachine):
 
         self.process = subprocess.Popen(
             [self.start_command],
+            cwd=self.state_dir,
             env={
                 "RUN_NSPAWN_ROOT_DIR": str(self.state_dir),
                 "RUN_NSPAWN_SHARED_DIR": str(self.shared_dir),