diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index d17151491b7..14a60909207 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -168,7 +168,7 @@ test-docs: ## Test doc links
 .PHONY: test-unit
 TEST_PKGS = $(shell $(GO) list ./... | grep -v -E 'github.com/operator-framework/operator-sdk/test/')
 test-unit: ## Run unit tests
-	$(GO) test -tags=$(GO_BUILD_TAGS) -coverprofile=coverage.out -covermode=count -short $(TEST_PKGS)
+	CGO_ENABLED=1 $(GO) test -race -tags=$(GO_BUILD_TAGS) -coverprofile=coverage.out -covermode=atomic -short $(TEST_PKGS)
 
 e2e_tests := test-e2e-go test-e2e-helm test-e2e-integration
 e2e_targets := test-e2e $(e2e_tests)
diff --git a/internal/validate/external.go b/internal/validate/external.go
index 29937d8e4b3..009a5fe9c80 100644
--- a/internal/validate/external.go
+++ b/internal/validate/external.go
@@ -64,13 +64,17 @@ func RunExternalValidators(ctx context.Context, entrypoints []string, bundleRoot
 		dec := json.NewDecoder(stdout)
 		dec.DisallowUnknownFields()
 
-		if err := dec.Decode(&manifestresults[i]); err != nil {
-			fmt.Printf("decode failed: %v\n", err)
-			return nil, err
-		}
+		decodeErr := dec.Decode(&manifestresults[i])
+		// Always wait for the command to finish to ensure stderr is fully written
+		// and all goroutines complete before returning.
 		if err := cmd.Wait(); err != nil {
 			return nil, err
 		}
+		// Return decode error after waiting for command to complete
+		if decodeErr != nil {
+			fmt.Printf("decode failed: %v\n", decodeErr)
+			return nil, decodeErr
+		}
 	}
 	return manifestresults, nil
 }