diff --git a/piscal-manager/piscal_launcher.sh b/piscal-manager/piscal_launcher.sh
index 368c00b..b80e6b6 100755
--- a/piscal-manager/piscal_launcher.sh
+++ b/piscal-manager/piscal_launcher.sh
@@ -19,9 +19,17 @@ cleaned_input_directory_name="clninput"
 touser_directory_name="fitresult/touser"
 nottouser_directory_name="fitresult/nottouser"
 
-# import the settings from piscal.cfg
+# import the settings from piscal_launcher.cfg
 # $piscal_executable and $storage_directory
-. "$base_directory/piscal_launcher.cfg"
+piscal_launcher_cfg="$base_directory/piscal_launcher.cfg"
+if [ ! -f "$piscal_launcher_cfg" ]; then
+    piscal_launcher_cfg="/srv/piscal_launcher.cfg"
+fi
+if [ ! -f "$piscal_launcher_cfg" ]; then
+    echo "piscal_launcher.cfg not found"
+    exit 1
+fi
+. "$piscal_launcher_cfg"
 
 while getopts "hd:f:u:t" opt; do
     case "$opt" in
@@ -100,7 +108,10 @@ if [ -z "$suppress_storage_copy" ]; then
     cp "$output_directory_nottouser"/* "$storage_directory"/output/ 2>/dev/null
     cp "$cleaned_input_directory"/* "$storage_directory"/input/ 2>/dev/null
 
-    mv_script=$base_directory/subdir_year.sh
+    mv_script="$base_directory/subdir_year.sh"
+    if [ ! -f "$mv_script" ]; then
+        mv_script="/srv/subdir_year.sh"
+    fi
     pushd "$storage_directory"/output >> /dev/null
     "$mv_script"
     popd >> /dev/null
diff --git a/piscal-manager/piscal_manager.sh b/piscal-manager/piscal_manager.sh
index 2a7feb5..5f10c63 100755
--- a/piscal-manager/piscal_manager.sh
+++ b/piscal-manager/piscal_manager.sh
@@ -75,18 +75,46 @@ if [ -z "$directory_name" ]; then
     echo "directory name required (-d)"
     exit 1
 fi
-working_directory="$base_directory/$directory_name"
-if [ ! -d "$working_directory" ]; then
-    echo "working directory $working_directory not found"
-    exit 1
+candidate_base_directory="$base_directory/$directory_name"
+
+# Resolve the real working directory by probing for an input/ directory.
+# This makes the job orchestration resilient when containers create jobs under
+# a different root (e.g. $HOME/LeafWeb) than where the manager scripts live.
+working_directory=""
+for candidate in \
+    "$candidate_base_directory" \
+    "$HOME/LeafWeb/$directory_name" \
+    "$HOME/$directory_name" \
+    "$PWD/$directory_name" \
+    "/srv/$directory_name"
+do
+    if [ -d "$candidate/$input_directory_name" ]; then
+        working_directory="$candidate"
+        break
+    fi
+done
+
+# If no candidates match, fall back to the historical behavior so errors remain explainable.
+if [ -z "$working_directory" ]; then
+    working_directory="$candidate_base_directory"
 fi
+
 input_directory="$working_directory/$input_directory_name"
-if [ ! -d "$input_directory" ]; then
-    echo "input directory $input_directory not found"
-    exit 1
-fi
 pid_path="$working_directory/$pid_filename"
 
+# Preserve fail-loud behavior for launch and status operations.
+# Cleanup/kill are handled idempotently further below.
+if [ "$task" = "launch" ] || [ "$task" = "get_status" ] || [ "$task" = "get_status_cleaned_input" ]; then
+    if [ ! -d "$working_directory" ]; then
+        echo "working directory $working_directory not found"
+        exit 1
+    fi
+    if [ ! -d "$input_directory" ]; then
+        echo "input directory $input_directory not found"
+        exit 1
+    fi
+fi
+
 ## Process task
 if [ "$task" = "launch" ]; then
     # verify process isn't running yet
@@ -161,6 +189,14 @@ elif [ "$task" = "get_status" ] || [ "$task" = "get_status_cleaned_input" ]; the
        fi
     fi
 elif [ "$task" = "cleanup" ]; then
+    # Idempotent cleanup: safe after partial failures.
+    if [ ! -d "$working_directory" ]; then
+        exit 0
+    fi
+    if [ ! -f "$pid_path" ]; then
+        exit 0
+    fi
+
     pid=$(head -n 1 $pid_path 2>/dev/null)
     # if the pid exists, check the process status using ps
     if ps -p $pid > /dev/null; then
@@ -170,10 +206,12 @@ elif [ "$task" = "cleanup" ]; then
     fi
     rm -rf "$working_directory"
 elif [ "$task" = "kill" ]; then
-    # if the pid doesn't exist, then process hasn't started
+    # Idempotent kill: safe after partial failures.
+    if [ ! -d "$working_directory" ]; then
+        exit 0
+    fi
     if [ ! -f "$pid_path" ]; then
-        echo "not started"
-        exit 1
+        exit 0
     fi
 
     pid=$(head -n 1 $pid_path 2>/dev/null)