diff --git a/.ci/pipelines/jobs/ocp-operator.sh b/.ci/pipelines/jobs/ocp-operator.sh
index 4942b3fef6..b7122a732b 100644
--- a/.ci/pipelines/jobs/ocp-operator.sh
+++ b/.ci/pipelines/jobs/ocp-operator.sh
@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@ source "$DIR"/install-methods/operator.sh
 source "$DIR"/lib/testing.sh
 # shellcheck source=.ci/pipelines/playwright-projects.sh
 source "$DIR"/playwright-projects.sh
+# shellcheck source=.ci/pipelines/lib/schema-mode-env.sh
+source "$DIR"/lib/schema-mode-env.sh
 
 initiate_operator_deployments() {
   log::info "Initiating Operator-backed deployments on OCP"
@@ -85,13 +87,30 @@ initiate_operator_deployments_osd_gcp() {
 run_operator_runtime_config_change_tests() {
   # Deploy `showcase-runtime` to run tests that require configuration changes at runtime
   namespace::configure "${NAME_SPACE_RUNTIME}"
+
+  # Deploy external PostgreSQL (Crunchy) and create real secrets in the runtime namespace
+  namespace::configure "${NAME_SPACE_POSTGRES_DB}"
+  configure_external_postgres_db "${NAME_SPACE_RUNTIME}"
+
   config::create_app_config_map "$DIR/resources/postgres-db/rds-app-config.yaml" "${NAME_SPACE_RUNTIME}"
-  # Pre-create placeholder secrets so the operator accepts the Backstage CR (enableLocalDb=false).
-  # The E2E tests (RDS/Azure DB) will overwrite these with real credentials at runtime.
+
+  # Add RHDH_RUNTIME_URL to postgres-cred (configure_external_postgres_db doesn't include it,
+  # but rds-app-config.yaml references it for app/backend baseUrl)
   local runtime_url="https://backstage-${RELEASE_NAME}-${NAME_SPACE_RUNTIME}.${K8S_CLUSTER_ROUTER_BASE}"
-  create_postgres_cred_secret "${NAME_SPACE_RUNTIME}" "tmp" "tmp" "RHDH_RUNTIME_URL=${runtime_url}"
-  oc apply -f "$DIR/resources/postgres-db/postgres-crt.yaml" -n "${NAME_SPACE_RUNTIME}"
+  oc patch secret postgres-cred -n "${NAME_SPACE_RUNTIME}" --type merge \
+    -p "{\"stringData\":{\"RHDH_RUNTIME_URL\":\"${runtime_url}\"}}"
+
   deploy_rhdh_operator "${NAME_SPACE_RUNTIME}" "${DIR}/resources/rhdh-operator/rhdh-start-runtime.yaml" "true"
+
+  export INSTALL_METHOD=operator
+
+  # Configure schema-mode environment (opt-in: tests skip if env not configured)
+  if configure_schema_mode_runtime_env "${NAME_SPACE_RUNTIME}" "${RELEASE_NAME}" operator; then
+    log::info "Schema-mode environment configured successfully; schema-mode tests will run"
+  else
+    log::warn "Schema-mode environment not configured; schema-mode tests will skip (this is expected if PostgreSQL is not available)"
+  fi
+
   testing::run_tests "${RELEASE_NAME}" "${NAME_SPACE_RUNTIME}" "${PW_PROJECT_SHOWCASE_RUNTIME}" "${runtime_url}" || true
 }
 
@@ -99,6 +118,7 @@ handle_ocp_operator() {
   export NAME_SPACE="${NAME_SPACE:-showcase}"
   export NAME_SPACE_RBAC="${NAME_SPACE_RBAC:-showcase-rbac}"
   export NAME_SPACE_RUNTIME="${NAME_SPACE_RUNTIME:-showcase-runtime}"
+  export NAME_SPACE_POSTGRES_DB="${NAME_SPACE_POSTGRES_DB:-postgress-external-db}"
 
   common::oc_login
 
diff --git a/.ci/pipelines/lib/schema-mode-env.sh b/.ci/pipelines/lib/schema-mode-env.sh
index 14f1a7741e..4011d8ac7a 100755
--- a/.ci/pipelines/lib/schema-mode-env.sh
+++ b/.ci/pipelines/lib/schema-mode-env.sh
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ readonly SCHEMA_MODE_ENV_LIB_SOURCED=1
 configure_schema_mode_runtime_env() {
   local runtime_namespace=$1
   local release_name=$2
+  local install_method=${3:-helm}
 
   if [[ -z "${runtime_namespace}" || -z "${release_name}" ]]; then
     log::error "configure_schema_mode_runtime_env: runtime_namespace and release_name are required"
@@ -60,13 +61,13 @@ configure_schema_mode_runtime_env() {
     local crunchy_cluster="${SCHEMA_MODE_CRUNCHY_CLUSTER_NAME:-postgress-external-db}"
     if oc get svc postgress-external-db-primary -n "${pdb}" &> /dev/null; then
       forward_namespace="${pdb}"
-      log::info "Schema-mode (helm): no in-cluster Postgres Service in ${runtime_namespace}; using Crunchy cluster in ${pdb}"
+      log::info "Schema-mode (${install_method}): no in-cluster Postgres Service in ${runtime_namespace}; using Crunchy cluster in ${pdb}"
       local crunchy_admin_secret="${crunchy_cluster}-pguser-janus-idp"
       if oc get secret "${crunchy_admin_secret}" -n "${pdb}" &> /dev/null; then
         admin_password=$(oc get secret "${crunchy_admin_secret}" -n "${pdb}" -o jsonpath='{.data.password}' 2> /dev/null | base64 -d || true)
       fi
       if [[ -z "${admin_password}" ]]; then
-        log::warn "Schema-mode (helm): could not read ${crunchy_admin_secret} password in ${pdb}; schema tests remain opt-in."
+        log::warn "Schema-mode (${install_method}): could not read ${crunchy_admin_secret} password in ${pdb}; schema tests remain opt-in."
         return 1
       fi
       postgres_service=$(oc get pods -n "${pdb}" \
@@ -74,18 +75,18 @@ configure_schema_mode_runtime_env() {
         --field-selector=status.phase=Running \
         -o jsonpath='{.items[0].metadata.name}' 2> /dev/null)
       if [[ -z "${postgres_service}" ]]; then
-        log::warn "Schema-mode (helm): no Running Postgres pod in ${pdb} for cluster ${crunchy_cluster}; schema tests remain opt-in."
+        log::warn "Schema-mode (${install_method}): no Running Postgres pod in ${pdb} for cluster ${crunchy_cluster}; schema tests remain opt-in."
         return 1
       fi
       forward_via_pod=1
     else
-      log::warn "Schema-mode (helm): PostgreSQL service not found in ${runtime_namespace} and no postgress-external-db-primary in ${pdb}; schema tests remain opt-in."
+      log::warn "Schema-mode (${install_method}): PostgreSQL service not found in ${runtime_namespace} and no postgress-external-db-primary in ${pdb}; schema tests remain opt-in."
       return 1
     fi
   fi
 
   if [[ -z "${admin_password}" ]]; then
-    log::warn "Schema-mode (helm): unable to resolve PostgreSQL admin password; schema tests remain opt-in."
+    log::warn "Schema-mode (${install_method}): unable to resolve PostgreSQL admin password; schema tests remain opt-in."
     return 1
   fi
 
@@ -109,5 +110,5 @@ configure_schema_mode_runtime_env() {
   export SCHEMA_MODE_DB_PASSWORD="${SCHEMA_MODE_DB_PASSWORD:-test_password_123}"
   export SCHEMA_MODE_DB_USER="${SCHEMA_MODE_DB_USER:-bn_backstage}"
 
-  log::info "Schema-mode env configured (helm): Playwright will port-forward ${pf_target} in ${forward_namespace}"
+  log::info "Schema-mode env configured (${install_method}): Playwright will port-forward ${pf_target} in ${forward_namespace}"
 }
diff --git a/e2e-tests/playwright/e2e/plugin-division-mode-schema/README.md b/e2e-tests/playwright/e2e/plugin-division-mode-schema/README.md
index 14e49524c7..5fc4788749 100644
--- a/e2e-tests/playwright/e2e/plugin-division-mode-schema/README.md
+++ b/e2e-tests/playwright/e2e/plugin-division-mode-schema/README.md
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ Tests skip when:
 ### CI Behavior
 
 - **OCP Helm nightly jobs**: Tests run (env auto-configured by `schema-mode-env.sh`)
-- **OCP Operator nightly jobs**: Tests skip (operator runtime tests disabled, tracked by [RHDHBUGS-2608](https://issues.redhat.com/browse/RHDHBUGS-2608))
+- **OCP Operator nightly jobs**: Tests run (env auto-configured by `schema-mode-env.sh` with `INSTALL_METHOD=operator`)
 - **PR jobs**: Tests skip (env not configured by default)
 - **Non-OCP jobs (AKS, EKS, GKE)**: Tests skip (no PostgreSQL deployment)
 
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ Set `DEBUG_SCHEMA_MODE_PF=1` to log port-forward output.
 
 Tests run in the `showcase-runtime` Playwright project together with `config-map.spec.ts` (see [`playwright.config.ts`](../../../playwright.config.ts)).
 
-**Pipeline entrypoint**: [`.ci/pipelines/openshift-ci-tests.sh`](../../../../.ci/pipelines/openshift-ci-tests.sh) → `jobs/ocp-nightly.sh`
+**Pipeline entrypoint**: [`.ci/pipelines/openshift-ci-tests.sh`](../../../../.ci/pipelines/openshift-ci-tests.sh) → `jobs/ocp-nightly.sh` (Helm) or `jobs/ocp-operator.sh` (Operator)
 
 **Environment baseline**: [`.ci/pipelines/env_variables.sh`](../../../../.ci/pipelines/env_variables.sh)