diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/ci-deploy.yml b/.gitea/workflows/ci-deploy.yml
index 9030f7f..b2e38ed 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/ci-deploy.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/ci-deploy.yml
@@ -207,6 +207,10 @@ jobs:
           CI: 'false'
           GENERATE_SOURCEMAP: 'false'
           NODE_OPTIONS: --max-old-space-size=4096
+          # NEXT_PUBLIC values are embedded during `next build`. The browser smoke
+          # suite serves this prebuilt export, so it must target its isolated API
+          # rather than the normal localhost development port.
+          NEXT_PUBLIC_API_BASE_URL: http://localhost:5302/api
         # Build once, then make Playwright serve this exact export. A SIGSEGV-only retry preserves
         # the runner workaround without hiding an ordinary compiler or type-check failure.
         run: |
diff --git a/JobTrackerApi/Program.cs b/JobTrackerApi/Program.cs
index 5e5e27e..bff14e7 100644
--- a/JobTrackerApi/Program.cs
+++ b/JobTrackerApi/Program.cs
@@ -419,6 +419,8 @@ builder.Services.AddAuthorization(options =>
 builder.Services.AddScoped<IAuthorizationHandler, ProEntitlementHandler>();
 builder.Services.AddSingleton<IAuthorizationMiddlewareResultHandler, ProEntitlementAuthorizationResultHandler>();
 
+var authLoginPermitLimit = builder.Configuration.GetValue<int?>("RateLimits:AuthLoginPermitLimit") ?? 10;
+
 builder.Services.AddRateLimiter(options =>
 {
     options.RejectionStatusCode = StatusCodes.Status429TooManyRequests;
@@ -428,7 +430,7 @@ builder.Services.AddRateLimiter(options =>
             partitionKey: $"login:{context.Connection.RemoteIpAddress?.ToString() ?? "unknown"}",
             factory: _ => new FixedWindowRateLimiterOptions
             {
-                PermitLimit = 10,
+                PermitLimit = authLoginPermitLimit,
                 Window = TimeSpan.FromMinutes(5),
                 QueueProcessingOrder = QueueProcessingOrder.OldestFirst,
                 QueueLimit = 0,
diff --git a/job-tracker-ui/e2e/smoke.spec.ts b/job-tracker-ui/e2e/smoke.spec.ts
index 3db8f56..b2a5750 100644
--- a/job-tracker-ui/e2e/smoke.spec.ts
+++ b/job-tracker-ui/e2e/smoke.spec.ts
@@ -175,7 +175,7 @@ test("a saved job can be created through the reviewed UI flow", async ({ page })
   await page.goto("/jobs");
   await page.getByRole("button", { name: "Add Job" }).click();
   await page.getByRole("button", { name: "Enter details manually" }).click();
-  await page.getByLabel("Company").fill(`E2E Company ${suffix}`);
+  await page.getByRole("dialog").getByRole("combobox", { name: "Company" }).fill(`E2E Company ${suffix}`);
   await page.getByLabel("Job title").fill(title);
   await page.getByRole("button", { name: "Continue" }).click();
   for (let step = 0; step < 3; step += 1) {
diff --git a/job-tracker-ui/playwright.config.ts b/job-tracker-ui/playwright.config.ts
index 9b3b3a6..6690e45 100644
--- a/job-tracker-ui/playwright.config.ts
+++ b/job-tracker-ui/playwright.config.ts
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ export default defineConfig({
         Auth__AdminEmail: "e2e@example.test",
         Auth__AdminPassword: "E2ePassword123!",
         Auth__AllowRegistration: "false",
+        RateLimits__AuthLoginPermitLimit: "100",
         App__Version: "e2e-verification",
         App__CommitSha: "e2e1234",
         Cors__Origins__0: appUrl,