diff --git a/rust/operator-binary/src/controller.rs b/rust/operator-binary/src/controller.rs
index 281f0a12..e7968ffb 100644
--- a/rust/operator-binary/src/controller.rs
+++ b/rust/operator-binary/src/controller.rs
@@ -863,6 +863,10 @@ fn build_server_rolegroup_daemonset(
             &opa_container_name,
         )])
         .add_env_vars(env)
+        .add_env_var(
+            "CONTAINERDEBUG_LOG_DIRECTORY",
+            format!("{STACKABLE_LOG_DIR}/containerdebug"),
+        )
         .add_container_port(APP_PORT_NAME, APP_PORT.into())
         .add_volume_mount(CONFIG_VOLUME_NAME, CONFIG_DIR)
         .context(AddVolumeMountSnafu)?
diff --git a/tests/templates/kuttl/smoke/10-assert.yaml.j2 b/tests/templates/kuttl/smoke/10-assert.yaml.j2
index 7f0b7ff0..6b86f13f 100644
--- a/tests/templates/kuttl/smoke/10-assert.yaml.j2
+++ b/tests/templates/kuttl/smoke/10-assert.yaml.j2
@@ -32,12 +32,3 @@ spec:
         - name: vector
 {% endif %}
       terminationGracePeriodSeconds: 125 # 2 minutes + 5s safety buffer
----
-# This test checks if the containerdebug-state.json file is present and valid
-apiVersion: kuttl.dev/v1beta1
-kind: TestAssert
-timeout: 600
-commands:
-  - script: |
-      FIRST_OPA_POD=$(kubectl get -n $NAMESPACE pods --field-selector=status.phase=Running --selector app.kubernetes.io/instance=test-opa -o jsonpath='{.items[0].metadata.name}')
-      kubectl exec -n $NAMESPACE --container opa $FIRST_OPA_POD -- cat /stackable/log/containerdebug-state.json | jq --exit-status
diff --git a/tests/templates/kuttl/smoke/11-assert.yaml b/tests/templates/kuttl/smoke/11-assert.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3136c288
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/templates/kuttl/smoke/11-assert.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+---
+# This test checks if the containerdebug-state.json file is present and valid
+apiVersion: kuttl.dev/v1beta1
+kind: TestAssert
+timeout: 600
+commands:
+  - script: |
+      FIRST_OPA_POD=$(kubectl get -n $NAMESPACE pods --field-selector=status.phase=Running --selector app.kubernetes.io/instance=test-opa -o jsonpath='{.items[0].metadata.name}')
+      kubectl exec -n $NAMESPACE --container opa $FIRST_OPA_POD -- cat /stackable/log/containerdebug-state.json | jq --exit-status '"valid JSON"'