diff --git a/.changeset/e2e-staging-permissions-check.md b/.changeset/e2e-staging-permissions-check.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..a845151cc84
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/e2e-staging-permissions-check.md
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+---
+---
diff --git a/.github/workflows/e2e-staging.yml b/.github/workflows/e2e-staging.yml
index f6b233bb20c..f2967cd05b2 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/e2e-staging.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/e2e-staging.yml
@@ -37,8 +37,39 @@ concurrency:
   cancel-in-progress: true
 
 jobs:
+  permissions-check:
+    name: Check Permissions
+    runs-on: 'blacksmith-8vcpu-ubuntu-2204'
+    steps:
+      - name: Check org membership
+        uses: actions/github-script@v7
+        with:
+          script: |
+            const org = context.repo.owner;
+            const username = process.env.GITHUB_TRIGGERING_ACTOR || context.actor;
+
+            try {
+              const { status } = await github.rest.orgs.checkMembershipForUser({
+                org,
+                username,
+              });
+
+              if (status !== 204) {
+                core.setFailed(`User '${username}' is not a member of the '${org}' organization.`);
+              }
+            } catch (error) {
+              if (error?.status === 404) {
+                core.setFailed(`User '${username}' is not a member of the '${org}' organization.`);
+              } else {
+                core.setFailed(
+                  `Org membership check failed for '${username}' in '${org}' (status: ${error?.status ?? 'unknown'}): ${error?.message ?? 'unknown error'}`
+                );
+              }
+            }
+
   validate-instances:
     name: Validate Staging Instances
+    needs: [permissions-check]
     runs-on: 'blacksmith-8vcpu-ubuntu-2204'
     steps:
       - name: Checkout Repo
@@ -56,6 +87,7 @@ jobs:
 
   integration-tests:
     name: Integration Tests (${{ matrix.test-name }}, ${{ matrix.test-project }})
+    needs: [permissions-check]
     runs-on: 'blacksmith-8vcpu-ubuntu-2204'
     defaults:
       run: