diff --git a/.zuul.yaml b/.zuul.yaml
index 85091d8..5d0c956 100644
--- a/.zuul.yaml
+++ b/.zuul.yaml
@@ -128,6 +128,8 @@
               volume_revert: True
       devstack_services:
         barbican: true
+        # explicitly enable c-bak, as it may be disabled in the parent job
+        c-bak: true
       tempest_plugins:
         - cinder-tempest-plugin
     irrelevant-files: