diff --git a/environments/cae-dev/terraform.tfvars b/environments/cae-dev/terraform.tfvars
index e202ac6..60892b7 100644
--- a/environments/cae-dev/terraform.tfvars
+++ b/environments/cae-dev/terraform.tfvars
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 environment  = "cae-dev"
 region       = "us-west-2"
 cluster_name = "jupyterhub"
-domain_name  = "cae-dev.rocktalus.com"
+domain_name  = "cae-dev.geopotential.org"
 admin_email  = "refuge@rocktalus.com"
 owner_email  = "refuge@rocktalus.com"
 cost_center  = "cae-dev"
@@ -32,15 +32,21 @@ cluster_admin_users = [
 # Kubernetes
 kubernetes_version = "1.34"
 
-# ACM Certificate - Manual DNS validation (no Route53)
+# ACM Certificate - Automated DNS validation via Route53 (same-account zone)
 enable_acm          = true
 acm_enable_wildcard = false
-acm_auto_validate   = false # Manually add DNS validation records
+acm_auto_validate   = true # Route53 creates validation records automatically
+
+# Route53 DNS Management - auto-creates/updates DNS + ACM validation on apply
+# Zone must already exist in this account (992398409787); role_arn empty = same-account
+manage_route53_dns = true
+route53_zone_name  = "geopotential.org"
+route53_role_arn   = ""
 
 # Network Configuration
-vpc_cidr                 = "10.6.0.0/16" # Different CIDR for dev
-enable_nat_gateway       = true
-single_nat_gateway       = true
+vpc_cidr                   = "10.6.0.0/16" # Different CIDR for dev
+enable_nat_gateway         = true
+single_nat_gateway         = true
 pin_main_nodes_single_az   = true # All nodes in single AZ (matches cae)
 pin_system_nodes_single_az = true # Prevents hub PVC/node zone affinity conflicts
 pin_user_nodes_single_az   = true
diff --git a/main.tf b/main.tf
index 98e8326..139bc53 100644
--- a/main.tf
+++ b/main.tf
@@ -42,6 +42,23 @@ provider "aws" {
   }
 }
 
+# Cross-account provider for Route53 (when zone is in different account)
+# With route53_role_arn empty, this behaves as the default same-account provider.
+provider "aws" {
+  alias  = "route53"
+  region = var.region
+
+  default_tags {
+    tags = local.common_tags
+  }
+
+  # Assume role if route53_role_arn is provided (cross-account)
+  assume_role {
+    role_arn     = var.route53_role_arn != "" ? var.route53_role_arn : null
+    session_name = var.route53_role_arn != "" ? "tofu-route53-${var.environment}" : null
+  }
+}
+
 provider "kubernetes" {
   host                   = module.eks.cluster_endpoint
   cluster_ca_certificate = base64decode(module.eks.cluster_certificate_authority_data)
@@ -551,7 +568,7 @@ resource "aws_iam_role_policy" "kubecost" {
       ],
       # CUR bucket access - only if CUR is enabled (bucket exists)
       # Using for expression to ensure consistent types when condition is false
-      [for bucket in (local.cur_bucket_name != "" ? [local.cur_bucket_name] : []) : {
+      [for bucket in(local.cur_bucket_name != "" ? [local.cur_bucket_name] : []) : {
         Sid    = "CURBucketAccess"
         Effect = "Allow"
         Action = [
@@ -563,7 +580,7 @@ resource "aws_iam_role_policy" "kubecost" {
           "arn:aws:s3:::${bucket}/*"
         ]
       }],
-      [for _ in (local.cur_bucket_name != "" ? [1] : []) : {
+      [for _ in(local.cur_bucket_name != "" ? [1] : []) : {
         Sid    = "AthenaQueryAccess"
         Effect = "Allow"
         Action = [
@@ -573,7 +590,7 @@ resource "aws_iam_role_policy" "kubecost" {
         ]
         Resource = "*"
       }],
-      [for _ in (local.cur_bucket_name != "" ? [1] : []) : {
+      [for _ in(local.cur_bucket_name != "" ? [1] : []) : {
         Sid    = "GlueCatalogAccess"
         Effect = "Allow"
         Action = [
@@ -723,4 +740,65 @@ module "auto_shutdown" {
   tags              = local.common_tags
 
   depends_on = [module.eks]
+}
+
+# =============================================================================
+# Route53 DNS Management (Optional)
+# =============================================================================
+# Automatically creates/updates DNS record pointing to the load balancer and
+# the ACM validation records. When enabled, destroy/recreate cycles will
+# automatically update DNS. Supports cross-account Route53 via route53_role_arn
+# (leave empty for a same-account zone).
+
+# Look up the Route53 hosted zone (uses cross-account provider)
+data "aws_route53_zone" "main" {
+  count    = var.manage_route53_dns ? 1 : 0
+  provider = aws.route53
+  name     = var.route53_zone_name
+}
+
+# Read the proxy-public service to get the load balancer hostname
+data "kubernetes_service" "proxy_public" {
+  count = var.manage_route53_dns && var.enable_jupyterhub ? 1 : 0
+
+  metadata {
+    name      = "proxy-public"
+    namespace = "daskhub"
+  }
+
+  depends_on = [module.helm]
+}
+
+# Create the DNS record pointing to the load balancer
+# Using CNAME instead of Alias to avoid needing to look up NLB zone ID
+resource "aws_route53_record" "jupyterhub" {
+  count    = var.manage_route53_dns && var.enable_jupyterhub ? 1 : 0
+  provider = aws.route53
+
+  zone_id         = data.aws_route53_zone.main[0].zone_id
+  name            = var.domain_name
+  type            = "CNAME"
+  ttl             = 300
+  records         = [data.kubernetes_service.proxy_public[0].status[0].load_balancer[0].ingress[0].hostname]
+  allow_overwrite = true
+}
+
+# Also create the ACM validation record(s) when validating via Route53
+resource "aws_route53_record" "acm_validation" {
+  for_each = var.manage_route53_dns && var.enable_acm ? {
+    for dvo in module.acm[0].domain_validation_options : dvo.domain_name => {
+      name   = dvo.resource_record_name
+      record = dvo.resource_record_value
+      type   = dvo.resource_record_type
+    }
+  } : {}
+
+  provider = aws.route53
+
+  zone_id         = data.aws_route53_zone.main[0].zone_id
+  name            = each.value.name
+  type            = each.value.type
+  ttl             = 60
+  records         = [each.value.record]
+  allow_overwrite = true
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/modules/acm/outputs.tf b/modules/acm/outputs.tf
index d6b75b7..d4cd8fe 100644
--- a/modules/acm/outputs.tf
+++ b/modules/acm/outputs.tf
@@ -20,6 +20,11 @@ output "dns_validation_records" {
   value       = local.validation_options
 }
 
+output "domain_validation_options" {
+  description = "Domain validation options for Route53 automation"
+  value       = aws_acm_certificate.cert.domain_validation_options
+}
+
 output "validation_instructions" {
   description = "Instructions for manual DNS validation"
   value = var.auto_validate ? "Certificate validation is automatic." : <<-EOT
diff --git a/outputs.tf b/outputs.tf
index 5317f5b..a4dd16a 100644
--- a/outputs.tf
+++ b/outputs.tf
@@ -331,6 +331,26 @@ output "monitoring_urls" {
   } : null
 }
 
+# Route53 DNS Management
+output "route53_dns_record" {
+  description = "Route53 DNS record created for JupyterHub"
+  value = var.manage_route53_dns && var.enable_jupyterhub ? {
+    name   = aws_route53_record.jupyterhub[0].name
+    type   = aws_route53_record.jupyterhub[0].type
+    value  = one(aws_route53_record.jupyterhub[0].records)
+    status = "Managed by OpenTofu - auto-updates on apply"
+  } : null
+}
+
+output "load_balancer_hostname" {
+  description = "Load balancer hostname for manual DNS configuration"
+  value = var.manage_route53_dns && var.enable_jupyterhub ? (
+    "Managed by Route53 - see route53_dns_record output"
+    ) : (
+    var.enable_jupyterhub ? "Run: kubectl get svc -n daskhub proxy-public -o jsonpath='{.status.loadBalancer.ingress[0].hostname}'" : "N/A"
+  )
+}
+
 # Maintenance Commands
 output "maintenance_commands" {
   description = "Useful maintenance commands"
diff --git a/variables.tf b/variables.tf
index cac077e..680c9a0 100644
--- a/variables.tf
+++ b/variables.tf
@@ -337,7 +337,7 @@ variable "use_ecr_pull_through_cache" {
 variable "github_username" {
   description = "GitHub username for ECR pull-through cache authentication. Used with github.token from SOPS secrets."
   type        = string
-  default     = "espg"  # Default to repo owner
+  default     = "espg" # Default to repo owner
 }
 
 # User Resource Limits
@@ -604,4 +604,23 @@ variable "enable_continuous_image_puller" {
   description = "Enable continuous image puller to pre-pull images on nodes. Disable for small test clusters."
   type        = bool
   default     = true
+}
+
+# Route53 DNS Configuration
+variable "manage_route53_dns" {
+  description = "Automatically create/update Route53 DNS record for the load balancer and ACM validation records"
+  type        = bool
+  default     = false
+}
+
+variable "route53_zone_name" {
+  description = "Route53 hosted zone name (e.g., 'geopotential.org'). Required if manage_route53_dns is true."
+  type        = string
+  default     = ""
+}
+
+variable "route53_role_arn" {
+  description = "IAM role ARN to assume for Route53 operations. Required only when the Route53 zone is in a different AWS account; leave empty for a same-account zone."
+  type        = string
+  default     = ""
 }
\ No newline at end of file