diff --git a/internal/store/retry_policy.go b/internal/store/retry_policy.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..58a6a70
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/store/retry_policy.go
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+package store
+
+import (
+	"strings"
+	"time"
+)
+
+type failRetryPolicy struct {
+	Retryable bool
+	Delay     time.Duration
+}
+
+func retryPolicyForError(errorCode string) failRetryPolicy {
+	switch strings.TrimSpace(errorCode) {
+	case "provider_unavailable", "model_unavailable", "timeout", "storage_error", "stale_worker":
+		return failRetryPolicy{Retryable: true, Delay: 30 * time.Second}
+	case "bad_response", "unknown":
+		return failRetryPolicy{Retryable: true, Delay: 2 * time.Minute}
+	default:
+		return failRetryPolicy{}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/store/retry_policy_test.go b/internal/store/retry_policy_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..429ba04
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/store/retry_policy_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+package store
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+)
+
+func TestRetryPolicyForError(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name      string
+		code      string
+		retryable bool
+		delay     time.Duration
+	}{
+		{name: "provider unavailable", code: "provider_unavailable", retryable: true, delay: 30 * time.Second},
+		{name: "model unavailable", code: "model_unavailable", retryable: true, delay: 30 * time.Second},
+		{name: "timeout", code: "timeout", retryable: true, delay: 30 * time.Second},
+		{name: "storage", code: "storage_error", retryable: true, delay: 30 * time.Second},
+		{name: "bad response", code: "bad_response", retryable: true, delay: 2 * time.Minute},
+		{name: "unknown", code: "unknown", retryable: true, delay: 2 * time.Minute},
+		{name: "bad audio", code: "bad_audio"},
+		{name: "bad input", code: "bad_input"},
+		{name: "context length", code: "context_length"},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			got := retryPolicyForError(tt.code)
+			if got.Retryable != tt.retryable {
+				t.Fatalf("Retryable = %v, want %v", got.Retryable, tt.retryable)
+			}
+			if got.Delay != tt.delay {
+				t.Fatalf("Delay = %s, want %s", got.Delay, tt.delay)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/store/store.go b/internal/store/store.go
index 9899e6a..d5ff862 100644
--- a/internal/store/store.go
+++ b/internal/store/store.go
@@ -548,19 +548,23 @@ func (s *Store) FailJob(ctx context.Context, id uuid.UUID, in model.FailJob) (*m
 		errorCode = "unknown"
 	}
 	errorMessage := strings.TrimSpace(in.ErrorMessage)
+	policy := retryPolicyForError(errorCode)
 	const q = `
 UPDATE ai_jobs
-SET status = 'failed',
+SET status = CASE WHEN $4 AND attempts < max_attempts THEN 'pending' ELSE 'failed' END,
     error_code = $2,
     error_message = $3,
-    completed_at = NOW(),
-    heartbeat_at = NOW(),
+    scheduled_at = CASE WHEN $4 AND attempts < max_attempts THEN NOW() + make_interval(secs => $5) ELSE scheduled_at END,
+    started_at = CASE WHEN $4 AND attempts < max_attempts THEN NULL ELSE started_at END,
+    completed_at = CASE WHEN $4 AND attempts < max_attempts THEN NULL ELSE NOW() END,
+    worker_id = NULL,
+    heartbeat_at = CASE WHEN $4 AND attempts < max_attempts THEN NULL ELSE NOW() END,
     updated_at = NOW()
 WHERE id = $1
   AND status = 'running'
 RETURNING ` + jobSelectColumns + `
 `
-	job, err := scanJob(s.pool.QueryRow(ctx, q, id, errorCode, errorMessage))
+	job, err := scanJob(s.pool.QueryRow(ctx, q, id, errorCode, errorMessage, policy.Retryable, int(policy.Delay.Seconds())))
 	if errors.Is(err, pgx.ErrNoRows) {
 		return nil, nil
 	}