diff --git a/lib/queue.mjs b/lib/queue.mjs
index e5abad0..787d453 100644
--- a/lib/queue.mjs
+++ b/lib/queue.mjs
@@ -3,13 +3,14 @@
  * Handles jobs_queue.json read/write/update
  * Uses in-memory cache to avoid redundant disk I/O within a run.
  */
-import { readFileSync, writeFileSync, renameSync, existsSync, mkdirSync } from 'fs';
+import { readFileSync, writeFileSync, appendFileSync, renameSync, unlinkSync, existsSync, mkdirSync } from 'fs';
 import { dirname, resolve } from 'path';
 import { fileURLToPath } from 'url';
 
 const __dir = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
 const QUEUE_PATH = `${__dir}/../data/jobs_queue.json`;
 const LOG_PATH = `${__dir}/../data/applications_log.json`;
+const UPDATES_PATH = `${__dir}/../data/queue_updates.jsonl`;
 
 /**
  * Load and validate a JSON config file. Throws with a clear message on failure.
@@ -52,13 +53,64 @@ function atomicWriteJSON(filePath, data) {
 let _queueCache = null;
 let _logCache = null;
 
+/**
+ * Apply pending updates from the sidecar JSONL file.
+ * Secondary processes (e.g. standalone classifier) write updates here
+ * instead of modifying jobs_queue.json directly, avoiding write conflicts.
+ *
+ * Uses rename-then-read to avoid losing updates appended between read and delete.
+ * Each line is JSON: { id, ...fields }
+ */
+function applyPendingUpdates(queue) {
+  if (!existsSync(UPDATES_PATH)) return false;
+
+  // Atomically claim the file by renaming it — new appends go to a fresh file
+  const claimedPath = UPDATES_PATH + '.applying';
+  try { renameSync(UPDATES_PATH, claimedPath); } catch { return false; }
+
+  let lines;
+  try {
+    lines = readFileSync(claimedPath, 'utf8').trim().split('\n').filter(Boolean);
+  } catch { return false; }
+  finally { try { unlinkSync(claimedPath); } catch {} }
+
+  if (lines.length === 0) return false;
+
+  const byId = new Map(queue.map((j, i) => [j.id, i]));
+  let applied = 0;
+  for (const line of lines) {
+    try {
+      const { id, ...fields } = JSON.parse(line);
+      const idx = byId.get(id);
+      if (idx == null) continue;
+      queue[idx] = { ...queue[idx], ...fields, status_updated_at: new Date().toISOString() };
+      applied++;
+    } catch {}
+  }
+
+  return applied > 0;
+}
+
 export function loadQueue() {
   if (_queueCache) return _queueCache;
   ensureDir(QUEUE_PATH);
   _queueCache = existsSync(QUEUE_PATH) ? JSON.parse(readFileSync(QUEUE_PATH, 'utf8')) : [];
+  if (applyPendingUpdates(_queueCache)) {
+    saveQueue(_queueCache);
+  }
   return _queueCache;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Force a fresh read from disk + apply pending updates.
+ * Call this between iterations in long-running processes to pick up
+ * sidecar updates from secondary processes.
+ */
+export function reloadQueue() {
+  _queueCache = null;
+  return loadQueue();
+}
+
 export function saveQueue(jobs) {
   ensureDir(QUEUE_PATH);
   atomicWriteJSON(QUEUE_PATH, jobs);
@@ -152,6 +204,20 @@ export function updateJobStatus(id, status, extra = {}) {
   return queue[idx];
 }
 
+/**
+ * Write a pending update to the sidecar JSONL file.
+ * Use this from secondary processes (standalone scripts) instead of
+ * calling updateJobStatus/saveQueue directly. The primary process
+ * (searcher/applier) will pick up these updates on next loadQueue().
+ *
+ * @param {string} id — job id
+ * @param {object} fields — fields to merge (e.g. { status: 'new', apply_type: 'lever', apply_url: '...' })
+ */
+export function writePendingUpdate(id, fields) {
+  ensureDir(UPDATES_PATH);
+  appendFileSync(UPDATES_PATH, JSON.stringify({ id, ...fields }) + '\n');
+}
+
 export function addJobs(newJobs) {
   // Always read fresh from disk to avoid clobbering concurrent writes (e.g. filter scoring)
   _queueCache = null;