diff --git a/backends/candle/src/lib.rs b/backends/candle/src/lib.rs
index ff824f555..168b0d630 100644
--- a/backends/candle/src/lib.rs
+++ b/backends/candle/src/lib.rs
@@ -127,6 +127,7 @@ impl CandleBackend {
         dtype: String,
         model_type: ModelType,
         dense_paths: Option<Vec<String>>,
+        device_id: usize,
     ) -> Result<Self, BackendError> {
         // Default files
         let default_safetensors = model_path.join("model.safetensors");
@@ -188,7 +189,7 @@ impl CandleBackend {
         let device = if candle::utils::cuda_is_available() {
             #[cfg(feature = "cuda")]
             match compatible_compute_cap() {
-                Ok(true) => Device::new_cuda(0),
+                Ok(true) => Device::new_cuda(device_id),
                 Ok(false) => {
                     return Err(BackendError::Start(format!(
                         "Runtime compute cap {} is not compatible with compile time compute cap {}",
diff --git a/backends/candle/tests/test_bert.rs b/backends/candle/tests/test_bert.rs
index c18479e4b..d496b146c 100644
--- a/backends/candle/tests/test_bert.rs
+++ b/backends/candle/tests/test_bert.rs
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ fn test_bert() -> Result<()> {
         "float32".to_string(),
         ModelType::Embedding(Pool::Mean),
         None,
+        0,
     )?;
 
     let input_batch = batch(
@@ -78,6 +79,7 @@ fn test_bert_pooled_raw() -> Result<()> {
         "float32".to_string(),
         ModelType::Embedding(Pool::Cls),
         None,
+        0,
     )?;
 
     let input_batch = batch(
@@ -149,6 +151,7 @@ fn test_emotions() -> Result<()> {
         "float32".to_string(),
         ModelType::Classifier,
         None,
+        0,
     )?;
 
     let input_batch = batch(
@@ -205,6 +208,7 @@ fn test_bert_classification() -> Result<()> {
         "float32".to_string(),
         ModelType::Classifier,
         None,
+        0,
     )?;
 
     let input_single = batch(
diff --git a/backends/candle/tests/test_dense.rs b/backends/candle/tests/test_dense.rs
index b523708d8..2173e18a0 100644
--- a/backends/candle/tests/test_dense.rs
+++ b/backends/candle/tests/test_dense.rs
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ fn test_stella_en_400m_v5_default_dense() -> Result<()> {
         "float32".to_string(),
         ModelType::Embedding(Pool::Mean),
         dense_paths, // This will default to `2_Dense_1024/` as defined in `modules.json`
+        0,
     )?;
 
     let input_batch = batch(
@@ -74,6 +75,7 @@ fn test_stella_en_400m_v5_dense_768() -> Result<()> {
         "float32".to_string(),
         ModelType::Embedding(Pool::Mean),
         dense_paths,
+        0,
     )?;
 
     let input_batch = batch(
diff --git a/backends/candle/tests/test_flash_bert.rs b/backends/candle/tests/test_flash_bert.rs
index 96e77ce80..54532d3d9 100644
--- a/backends/candle/tests/test_flash_bert.rs
+++ b/backends/candle/tests/test_flash_bert.rs
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ fn test_flash_mini() -> Result<()> {
         "float16".to_string(),
         ModelType::Embedding(Pool::Mean),
         None,
+        0,
     )?;
 
     let input_batch = batch(
@@ -88,6 +89,7 @@ fn test_flash_mini_pooled_raw() -> Result<()> {
         "float16".to_string(),
         ModelType::Embedding(Pool::Cls),
         None,
+        0,
     )?;
 
     let input_batch = batch(
@@ -163,6 +165,7 @@ fn test_flash_emotions() -> Result<()> {
         "float16".to_string(),
         ModelType::Classifier,
         None,
+        0,
     )?;
 
     let input_batch = batch(
@@ -223,6 +226,7 @@ fn test_flash_bert_classification() -> Result<()> {
         "float16".to_string(),
         ModelType::Classifier,
         None,
+        0,
     )?;
 
     let input_single = batch(
diff --git a/backends/candle/tests/test_flash_gte.rs b/backends/candle/tests/test_flash_gte.rs
index bc4f40502..da8982434 100644
--- a/backends/candle/tests/test_flash_gte.rs
+++ b/backends/candle/tests/test_flash_gte.rs
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ fn test_flash_gte() -> Result<()> {
         "float16".to_string(),
         ModelType::Embedding(Pool::Cls),
         None,
+        0,
     )?;
 
     let input_batch = batch(
@@ -69,6 +70,7 @@ fn test_flash_gte_classification() -> Result<()> {
         "float16".to_string(),
         ModelType::Classifier,
         None,
+        0,
     )?;
 
     let input_single = batch(
diff --git a/backends/candle/tests/test_flash_jina.rs b/backends/candle/tests/test_flash_jina.rs
index e0046bc50..21a884484 100644
--- a/backends/candle/tests/test_flash_jina.rs
+++ b/backends/candle/tests/test_flash_jina.rs
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ fn test_flash_jina_small() -> Result<()> {
         "float16".to_string(),
         ModelType::Embedding(Pool::Mean),
         None,
+        0,
     )?;
 
     let input_batch = batch(
diff --git a/backends/candle/tests/test_flash_jina_code.rs b/backends/candle/tests/test_flash_jina_code.rs
index 29941c2b0..57b105f9b 100644
--- a/backends/candle/tests/test_flash_jina_code.rs
+++ b/backends/candle/tests/test_flash_jina_code.rs
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ fn test_flash_jina_code_base() -> Result<()> {
         "float16".to_string(),
         ModelType::Embedding(Pool::Mean),
         None,
+        0,
     )?;
 
     let input_batch = batch(
diff --git a/backends/candle/tests/test_flash_mistral.rs b/backends/candle/tests/test_flash_mistral.rs
index 5e521a63a..364539295 100644
--- a/backends/candle/tests/test_flash_mistral.rs
+++ b/backends/candle/tests/test_flash_mistral.rs
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ fn test_flash_mistral() -> Result<()> {
         "float16".to_string(),
         ModelType::Embedding(Pool::Mean),
         None,
+        0,
     )?;
 
     let input_batch = batch(
diff --git a/backends/candle/tests/test_flash_nomic.rs b/backends/candle/tests/test_flash_nomic.rs
index 74a36c76d..4db1dccb1 100644
--- a/backends/candle/tests/test_flash_nomic.rs
+++ b/backends/candle/tests/test_flash_nomic.rs
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ fn test_flash_nomic_small() -> Result<()> {
         "float16".to_string(),
         ModelType::Embedding(Pool::Mean),
         None,
+        0,
     )?;
 
     let input_batch = batch(
@@ -65,6 +66,7 @@ fn test_flash_nomic_moe() -> Result<()> {
         "float16".to_string(),
         ModelType::Embedding(Pool::Mean),
         None,
+        0,
     )?;
 
     let input_batch = batch(
diff --git a/backends/candle/tests/test_flash_qwen2.rs b/backends/candle/tests/test_flash_qwen2.rs
index fc47b4b36..2658b2b1a 100644
--- a/backends/candle/tests/test_flash_qwen2.rs
+++ b/backends/candle/tests/test_flash_qwen2.rs
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ fn test_flash_qwen2() -> Result<()> {
         "float16".to_string(),
         ModelType::Embedding(Pool::LastToken),
         None,
+        0,
     )?;
 
     let input_batch = batch(
diff --git a/backends/candle/tests/test_flash_qwen3.rs b/backends/candle/tests/test_flash_qwen3.rs
index 51f8031ba..e3378ebc3 100644
--- a/backends/candle/tests/test_flash_qwen3.rs
+++ b/backends/candle/tests/test_flash_qwen3.rs
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ fn test_flash_qwen3() -> Result<()> {
         "float16".to_string(),
         ModelType::Embedding(Pool::LastToken),
         None,
+        0,
     )?;
 
     let input_batch = batch(
diff --git a/backends/candle/tests/test_gemma3.rs b/backends/candle/tests/test_gemma3.rs
index bff702ce1..e292e6c4f 100644
--- a/backends/candle/tests/test_gemma3.rs
+++ b/backends/candle/tests/test_gemma3.rs
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ fn test_gemma3() -> Result<()> {
         "float32".to_string(),
         ModelType::Embedding(Pool::Mean),
         dense_paths,
+        0,
     )?;
 
     let input_batch = batch(
diff --git a/backends/candle/tests/test_gte.rs b/backends/candle/tests/test_gte.rs
index ccfad4303..452bf66db 100644
--- a/backends/candle/tests/test_gte.rs
+++ b/backends/candle/tests/test_gte.rs
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ fn test_alibaba_gte() -> Result<()> {
         "float32".to_string(),
         ModelType::Embedding(Pool::Cls),
         None,
+        0,
     )?;
 
     let input_batch = batch(
@@ -62,6 +63,7 @@ fn test_alibaba_gte_new() -> Result<()> {
         "float32".to_string(),
         ModelType::Embedding(Pool::Cls),
         None,
+        0,
     )?;
 
     let input_batch = batch(
@@ -108,6 +110,7 @@ fn test_snowflake_gte() -> Result<()> {
         "float32".to_string(),
         ModelType::Embedding(Pool::Cls),
         None,
+        0,
     )?;
 
     let input_batch = batch(
@@ -154,6 +157,7 @@ fn test_gte_classification() -> Result<()> {
         "float32".to_string(),
         ModelType::Classifier,
         None,
+        0,
     )?;
 
     let input_single = batch(
diff --git a/backends/candle/tests/test_jina.rs b/backends/candle/tests/test_jina.rs
index 548c51cac..0da43f529 100644
--- a/backends/candle/tests/test_jina.rs
+++ b/backends/candle/tests/test_jina.rs
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ fn test_jina_small() -> Result<()> {
         "float32".to_string(),
         ModelType::Embedding(Pool::Mean),
         None,
+        0,
     )?;
 
     let input_batch = batch(
@@ -62,6 +63,7 @@ fn test_jina_rerank() -> Result<()> {
         "float32".to_string(),
         ModelType::Classifier,
         None,
+        0,
     )?;
 
     let input_single = batch(
diff --git a/backends/candle/tests/test_jina_code.rs b/backends/candle/tests/test_jina_code.rs
index 09b751c69..6035bef55 100644
--- a/backends/candle/tests/test_jina_code.rs
+++ b/backends/candle/tests/test_jina_code.rs
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ fn test_jina_code_base() -> Result<()> {
         "float32".to_string(),
         ModelType::Embedding(Pool::Mean),
         None,
+        0,
     )?;
 
     let input_batch = batch(
diff --git a/backends/candle/tests/test_modernbert.rs b/backends/candle/tests/test_modernbert.rs
index 77f05aef3..3497a0343 100644
--- a/backends/candle/tests/test_modernbert.rs
+++ b/backends/candle/tests/test_modernbert.rs
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ fn test_modernbert() -> Result<()> {
         "float32".to_string(),
         ModelType::Embedding(Pool::Mean),
         None,
+        0,
     )?;
 
     let input_batch = batch(
@@ -88,6 +89,7 @@ fn test_modernbert_pooled_raw() -> Result<()> {
         "float32".to_string(),
         ModelType::Embedding(Pool::Cls),
         None,
+        0,
     )?;
 
     let input_batch = batch(
@@ -184,6 +186,7 @@ fn test_modernbert_classification() -> Result<()> {
         "float32".to_string(),
         ModelType::Classifier,
         None,
+        0,
     )?;
 
     let input_single = batch(
@@ -223,6 +226,7 @@ fn test_modernbert_classification_mean_pooling() -> Result<()> {
         "float32".to_string(),
         ModelType::Classifier,
         None,
+        0,
     )?;
 
     let input_single = batch(
diff --git a/backends/candle/tests/test_mpnet.rs b/backends/candle/tests/test_mpnet.rs
index ebfd3e675..d5be18e9b 100644
--- a/backends/candle/tests/test_mpnet.rs
+++ b/backends/candle/tests/test_mpnet.rs
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ fn test_mpnet() -> Result<()> {
         "float32".to_string(),
         ModelType::Embedding(Pool::Mean),
         None,
+        0,
     )?;
 
     let input_batch = batch(
@@ -80,6 +81,7 @@ fn test_mpnet_pooled_raw() -> Result<()> {
         "float32".to_string(),
         ModelType::Embedding(Pool::Cls),
         None,
+        0,
     )?;
 
     let input_batch = batch(
diff --git a/backends/candle/tests/test_nomic.rs b/backends/candle/tests/test_nomic.rs
index cd5c07bd3..32effddab 100644
--- a/backends/candle/tests/test_nomic.rs
+++ b/backends/candle/tests/test_nomic.rs
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ fn test_nomic_small() -> Result<()> {
         "float32".to_string(),
         ModelType::Embedding(Pool::Mean),
         None,
+        0,
     )?;
 
     let input_batch = batch(
@@ -60,6 +61,7 @@ fn test_nomic_moe() -> Result<()> {
         "float32".to_string(),
         ModelType::Embedding(Pool::Mean),
         None,
+        0,
     )?;
 
     let input_batch = batch(
diff --git a/backends/candle/tests/test_qwen3.rs b/backends/candle/tests/test_qwen3.rs
index 0e6f01155..378ff52a6 100644
--- a/backends/candle/tests/test_qwen3.rs
+++ b/backends/candle/tests/test_qwen3.rs
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ fn test_qwen3() -> Result<()> {
         "float32".to_string(),
         ModelType::Embedding(Pool::LastToken),
         None,
+        0,
     )?;
 
     let input_batch = batch(
diff --git a/backends/src/lib.rs b/backends/src/lib.rs
index 7bf20f163..1f0648873 100644
--- a/backends/src/lib.rs
+++ b/backends/src/lib.rs
@@ -90,6 +90,7 @@ impl Backend {
         uds_path: String,
         otlp_endpoint: Option<String>,
         otlp_service_name: String,
+        device_id: usize,
     ) -> Result<Self, BackendError> {
         let (backend_sender, backend_receiver) = mpsc::channel(8);
 
@@ -102,6 +103,7 @@ impl Backend {
             uds_path,
             otlp_endpoint,
             otlp_service_name,
+            device_id,
         )
         .await?;
         let padded_model = backend.is_padded();
@@ -362,6 +364,7 @@ async fn init_backend(
     uds_path: String,
     otlp_endpoint: Option<String>,
     otlp_service_name: String,
+    device_id: usize,
 ) -> Result<Box<dyn CoreBackend + Send>, BackendError> {
     let mut backend_start_failed = false;
     let api_repo = api_repo.map(Arc::new);
@@ -475,6 +478,7 @@ async fn init_backend(
                 dtype.to_string(),
                 model_type.clone(),
                 dense_paths,
+                device_id,
             );
             match backend {
                 Ok(b) => return Ok(Box::new(b)),
diff --git a/router/src/lib.rs b/router/src/lib.rs
index 1ad777ac0..d1bf7ce51 100644
--- a/router/src/lib.rs
+++ b/router/src/lib.rs
@@ -66,6 +66,7 @@ pub async fn run(
     otlp_service_name: String,
     prometheus_port: u16,
     cors_allow_origin: Option<Vec<String>>,
+    device_id: usize,
 ) -> Result<()> {
     let model_id_path = Path::new(&model_id);
     let (model_root, api_repo) = if model_id_path.exists() && model_id_path.is_dir() {
@@ -280,6 +281,7 @@ pub async fn run(
         uds_path.unwrap_or("/tmp/text-embeddings-inference-server".to_string()),
         otlp_endpoint.clone(),
         otlp_service_name.clone(),
+        device_id,
     )
     .await
     .context("Could not create backend")?;
diff --git a/router/src/main.rs b/router/src/main.rs
index afee836e6..37d9e9de5 100644
--- a/router/src/main.rs
+++ b/router/src/main.rs
@@ -122,6 +122,11 @@ struct Args {
     #[clap(long, env)]
     dense_path: Option<String>,
 
+    /// The CUDA device ID where the model will be loaded. Defaults to 0 i.e., the first available device.
+    /// Only used with the candle backend.
+    #[clap(long, env, default_value = "0")]
+    device_id: usize,
+
     /// [DEPRECATED IN FAVOR OF `--hf-token`] Your Hugging Face Hub token
     #[clap(long, env, hide = true)]
     #[redact(partial)]
@@ -250,6 +255,7 @@ async fn main() -> Result<()> {
         args.otlp_service_name,
         args.prometheus_port,
         args.cors_allow_origin,
+        args.device_id,
     )
     .await?;
 
diff --git a/router/tests/common.rs b/router/tests/common.rs
index 476211764..40a9ab182 100644
--- a/router/tests/common.rs
+++ b/router/tests/common.rs
@@ -70,6 +70,7 @@ pub async fn start_server(model_id: String, revision: Option<String>, dtype: DTy
             "text-embeddings-inference.server".to_owned(),
             9000,
             None,
+            0,  // device_id
         )
     });