diff --git a/.github/workflows/additional_demo_notebook_tests.yaml b/.github/workflows/additional_demo_notebook_tests.yaml
index 03201e103..a081f9ee2 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/additional_demo_notebook_tests.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/additional_demo_notebook_tests.yaml
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Set up specific Python version
         uses: actions/setup-python@v5
         with:
-          python-version: '3.9'
+          python-version: '3.11'
           cache: 'pip' # caching pip dependencies
 
       - name: Setup and start KinD cluster
@@ -168,7 +168,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Set up specific Python version
         uses: actions/setup-python@v5
         with:
-          python-version: '3.9'
+          python-version: '3.11'
           cache: 'pip' # caching pip dependencies
 
       - name: Setup and start KinD cluster
diff --git a/.github/workflows/coverage-badge.yaml b/.github/workflows/coverage-badge.yaml
index af273ce95..e2fdddae1 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/coverage-badge.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/coverage-badge.yaml
@@ -13,10 +13,10 @@ jobs:
 
     steps:
     - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-    - name: Set up Python 3.9
+    - name: Set up Python 3.11
       uses: actions/setup-python@v5
       with:
-        python-version: 3.9
+        python-version: 3.11
     - name: Install dependencies
       run: |
         python -m pip install --upgrade pip
diff --git a/.github/workflows/e2e_tests.yaml b/.github/workflows/e2e_tests.yaml
index 61781aede..fca6d6e72 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/e2e_tests.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/e2e_tests.yaml
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Set up specific Python version
         uses: actions/setup-python@v5
         with:
-          python-version: '3.9'
+          python-version: '3.11'
           cache: 'pip' # caching pip dependencies
 
       - name: Setup NVidia GPU environment for KinD
diff --git a/.github/workflows/guided_notebook_tests.yaml b/.github/workflows/guided_notebook_tests.yaml
index 7a77d5a3f..71a822845 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/guided_notebook_tests.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/guided_notebook_tests.yaml
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Set up specific Python version
         uses: actions/setup-python@v5
         with:
-          python-version: '3.9'
+          python-version: '3.11'
           cache: 'pip' # caching pip dependencies
 
       - name: Setup and start KinD cluster
@@ -160,7 +160,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Set up specific Python version
         uses: actions/setup-python@v5
         with:
-          python-version: '3.9'
+          python-version: '3.11'
           cache: 'pip' # caching pip dependencies
 
       - name: Setup NVidia GPU environment for KinD
@@ -282,7 +282,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Set up specific Python version
         uses: actions/setup-python@v5
         with:
-          python-version: '3.9'
+          python-version: '3.11'
           cache: 'pip' # caching pip dependencies
 
       - name: Setup NVidia GPU environment for KinD
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yaml b/.github/workflows/release.yaml
index ddc23b5ae..50e3f9e19 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yaml
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ on:
               default: 'project-codeflare'
             python_version:
               type: string
-              default: "3.8"
+              default: "3.11"
               required: true
             poetry_version:
               type: string
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ui_notebooks_test.yaml b/.github/workflows/ui_notebooks_test.yaml
index 28f7e06c3..6d82c49e0 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ui_notebooks_test.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ui_notebooks_test.yaml
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Set up specific Python version
         uses: actions/setup-python@v5
         with:
-          python-version: "3.9"
+          python-version: "3.11"
           cache: "pip" # caching pip dependencies
 
       - name: Setup and start KinD cluster
diff --git a/.github/workflows/unit-tests.yml b/.github/workflows/unit-tests.yml
index 51934628d..cbe3603d1 100755
--- a/.github/workflows/unit-tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/unit-tests.yml
@@ -10,16 +10,16 @@ jobs:
   unit-tests:
 
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    container:
-      image: quay.io/project-codeflare/codeflare-sdk-precommit:v0.0.3
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Set up python
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v5
+        with:
+          python-version: '3.11'
       - name: Install poetry
         run: pip install poetry
-      - uses: actions/setup-python@v5
-        with:
-          python-version: '3.8'
-      - name: Install dependencies
+      - name: Install dependencies with poetry
         run: |
           poetry config virtualenvs.create false
           poetry lock --no-update
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 884632da6..8a87bad48 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ Thank you for your interest in contributing to the CodeFlare SDK!
 
 ### Prerequisites
 
-- Python 3.9
+- Python 3.11
 - [Poetry](https://python-poetry.org/)
 
 ### Setting Up Your Development Environment
diff --git a/docs/sphinx/user-docs/e2e.rst b/docs/sphinx/user-docs/e2e.rst
index 846536f11..6f3d1462f 100644
--- a/docs/sphinx/user-docs/e2e.rst
+++ b/docs/sphinx/user-docs/e2e.rst
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ Running e2e tests locally
 Pre-requisites
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 
--  We recommend using Python 3.9, along with Poetry.
+-  We recommend using Python 3.11, along with Poetry.
 
 On KinD clusters
 ----------------
diff --git a/src/codeflare_sdk/common/kueue/test_kueue.py b/src/codeflare_sdk/common/kueue/test_kueue.py
index 77095d4d9..0093058cd 100644
--- a/src/codeflare_sdk/common/kueue/test_kueue.py
+++ b/src/codeflare_sdk/common/kueue/test_kueue.py
@@ -11,7 +11,12 @@
 # WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
-from ..utils.unit_test_support import get_local_queue, createClusterConfig
+from ..utils.unit_test_support import (
+    apply_template,
+    get_local_queue,
+    createClusterConfig,
+    get_template_variables,
+)
 from unittest.mock import patch
 from codeflare_sdk.ray.cluster.cluster import Cluster, ClusterConfiguration
 import yaml
@@ -52,21 +57,21 @@ def test_cluster_creation_no_aw_local_queue(mocker):
     config.local_queue = "local-queue-default"
     cluster = Cluster(config)
     assert cluster.resource_yaml == f"{aw_dir}unit-test-cluster-kueue.yaml"
-    assert filecmp.cmp(
-        f"{aw_dir}unit-test-cluster-kueue.yaml",
+    expected_rc = apply_template(
         f"{parent}/tests/test_cluster_yamls/kueue/ray_cluster_kueue.yaml",
-        shallow=True,
+        get_template_variables(),
     )
 
+    with open(f"{aw_dir}unit-test-cluster-kueue.yaml", "r") as f:
+        cluster_kueue = yaml.load(f, Loader=yaml.FullLoader)
+        assert cluster_kueue == expected_rc
+
     # With resources loaded in memory, no Local Queue specified.
     config = createClusterConfig()
     config.name = "unit-test-cluster-kueue"
     config.write_to_file = False
     cluster = Cluster(config)
-
-    with open(f"{parent}/tests/test_cluster_yamls/kueue/ray_cluster_kueue.yaml") as f:
-        expected_rc = yaml.load(f, Loader=yaml.FullLoader)
-        assert cluster.resource_yaml == expected_rc
+    assert cluster.resource_yaml == expected_rc
 
 
 def test_aw_creation_local_queue(mocker):
@@ -86,12 +91,15 @@ def test_aw_creation_local_queue(mocker):
     config.local_queue = "local-queue-default"
     cluster = Cluster(config)
     assert cluster.resource_yaml == f"{aw_dir}unit-test-aw-kueue.yaml"
-    assert filecmp.cmp(
-        f"{aw_dir}unit-test-aw-kueue.yaml",
+    expected_rc = apply_template(
         f"{parent}/tests/test_cluster_yamls/kueue/aw_kueue.yaml",
-        shallow=True,
+        get_template_variables(),
     )
 
+    with open(f"{aw_dir}unit-test-aw-kueue.yaml", "r") as f:
+        aw_kueue = yaml.load(f, Loader=yaml.FullLoader)
+        assert aw_kueue == expected_rc
+
     # With resources loaded in memory, no Local Queue specified.
     config = createClusterConfig()
     config.name = "unit-test-aw-kueue"
@@ -99,9 +107,7 @@ def test_aw_creation_local_queue(mocker):
     config.write_to_file = False
     cluster = Cluster(config)
 
-    with open(f"{parent}/tests/test_cluster_yamls/kueue/aw_kueue.yaml") as f:
-        expected_rc = yaml.load(f, Loader=yaml.FullLoader)
-        assert cluster.resource_yaml == expected_rc
+    assert cluster.resource_yaml == expected_rc
 
 
 def test_get_local_queue_exists_fail(mocker):
diff --git a/src/codeflare_sdk/common/utils/unit_test_support.py b/src/codeflare_sdk/common/utils/unit_test_support.py
index 8e034378f..4182fc93d 100644
--- a/src/codeflare_sdk/common/utils/unit_test_support.py
+++ b/src/codeflare_sdk/common/utils/unit_test_support.py
@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 
+import string
+import sys
 from codeflare_sdk.ray.cluster.cluster import (
     Cluster,
     ClusterConfiguration,
@@ -255,6 +257,32 @@ def arg_check_del_effect(group, version, namespace, plural, name, *args):
         assert name == "ray-dashboard-unit-test-cluster-ray"
 
 
+def apply_template(yaml_file_path, variables):
+    with open(yaml_file_path, "r") as file:
+        yaml_content = file.read()
+
+    # Create a Template instance and substitute the variables
+    template = string.Template(yaml_content)
+    filled_yaml = template.substitute(variables)
+
+    # Now load the filled YAML into a Python object
+    return yaml.load(filled_yaml, Loader=yaml.FullLoader)
+
+
+def get_expected_image():
+    python_version = sys.version_info
+    if python_version.major == 3 and python_version.minor == 9:
+        return "quay.io/modh/ray@sha256:0d715f92570a2997381b7cafc0e224cfa25323f18b9545acfd23bc2b71576d06"
+    else:
+        return "quay.io/modh/ray@sha256:db667df1bc437a7b0965e8031e905d3ab04b86390d764d120e05ea5a5c18d1b4"
+
+
+def get_template_variables():
+    return {
+        "image": get_expected_image(),
+    }
+
+
 def arg_check_apply_effect(group, version, namespace, plural, body, *args):
     assert namespace == "ns"
     assert args == tuple()
diff --git a/src/codeflare_sdk/ray/cluster/test_config.py b/src/codeflare_sdk/ray/cluster/test_config.py
index 3416fc28c..b16cbaf28 100644
--- a/src/codeflare_sdk/ray/cluster/test_config.py
+++ b/src/codeflare_sdk/ray/cluster/test_config.py
@@ -13,15 +13,15 @@
 # limitations under the License.
 
 from codeflare_sdk.common.utils.unit_test_support import (
+    apply_template,
     createClusterWrongType,
-    get_local_queue,
     create_cluster_all_config_params,
+    get_template_variables,
 )
 from codeflare_sdk.ray.cluster.cluster import ClusterConfiguration, Cluster
 from pathlib import Path
 import filecmp
 import pytest
-import yaml
 import os
 
 parent = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[4]  # project directory
@@ -36,9 +36,11 @@ def test_default_cluster_creation(mocker):
 
     cluster = Cluster(ClusterConfiguration(name="default-cluster", namespace="ns"))
 
-    with open(f"{expected_clusters_dir}/ray/default-ray-cluster.yaml") as f:
-        expected_rc = yaml.load(f, Loader=yaml.FullLoader)
-        assert cluster.resource_yaml == expected_rc
+    expected_rc = apply_template(
+        f"{expected_clusters_dir}/ray/default-ray-cluster.yaml",
+        get_template_variables(),
+    )
+    assert cluster.resource_yaml == expected_rc
 
 
 def test_default_appwrapper_creation(mocker):
@@ -50,9 +52,10 @@ def test_default_appwrapper_creation(mocker):
         ClusterConfiguration(name="default-appwrapper", namespace="ns", appwrapper=True)
     )
 
-    with open(f"{expected_clusters_dir}/ray/default-appwrapper.yaml") as f:
-        expected_aw = yaml.load(f, Loader=yaml.FullLoader)
-        assert cluster.resource_yaml == expected_aw
+    expected_aw = apply_template(
+        f"{expected_clusters_dir}/ray/default-appwrapper.yaml", get_template_variables()
+    )
+    assert cluster.resource_yaml == expected_aw
 
 
 def test_config_creation_all_parameters(mocker):
diff --git a/tests/test_cluster_yamls/kueue/aw_kueue.yaml b/tests/test_cluster_yamls/kueue/aw_kueue.yaml
index 402ffb6a6..b5b5ae3fe 100644
--- a/tests/test_cluster_yamls/kueue/aw_kueue.yaml
+++ b/tests/test_cluster_yamls/kueue/aw_kueue.yaml
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ spec:
           template:
             spec:
               containers:
-              - image: quay.io/modh/ray@sha256:0d715f92570a2997381b7cafc0e224cfa25323f18b9545acfd23bc2b71576d06
+              - image: "${image}"
                 imagePullPolicy: Always
                 lifecycle:
                   preStop:
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ spec:
           template:
             spec:
               containers:
-              - image: quay.io/modh/ray@sha256:0d715f92570a2997381b7cafc0e224cfa25323f18b9545acfd23bc2b71576d06
+              - image: "${image}"
                 imagePullPolicy: Always
                 lifecycle:
                   preStop:
diff --git a/tests/test_cluster_yamls/kueue/ray_cluster_kueue.yaml b/tests/test_cluster_yamls/kueue/ray_cluster_kueue.yaml
index a5cb36164..ad179a0b3 100644
--- a/tests/test_cluster_yamls/kueue/ray_cluster_kueue.yaml
+++ b/tests/test_cluster_yamls/kueue/ray_cluster_kueue.yaml
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ spec:
           template:
             spec:
               containers:
-              - image: quay.io/modh/ray@sha256:0d715f92570a2997381b7cafc0e224cfa25323f18b9545acfd23bc2b71576d06
+              - image: "${image}"
                 imagePullPolicy: Always
                 lifecycle:
                   preStop:
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ spec:
           template:
             spec:
               containers:
-              - image: quay.io/modh/ray@sha256:0d715f92570a2997381b7cafc0e224cfa25323f18b9545acfd23bc2b71576d06
+              - image: "${image}"
                 imagePullPolicy: Always
                 lifecycle:
                   preStop:
diff --git a/tests/test_cluster_yamls/ray/default-appwrapper.yaml b/tests/test_cluster_yamls/ray/default-appwrapper.yaml
index 3e97474d4..eadfeaa07 100644
--- a/tests/test_cluster_yamls/ray/default-appwrapper.yaml
+++ b/tests/test_cluster_yamls/ray/default-appwrapper.yaml
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ spec:
           template:
             spec:
               containers:
-              - image: quay.io/modh/ray@sha256:0d715f92570a2997381b7cafc0e224cfa25323f18b9545acfd23bc2b71576d06
+              - image: "${image}"
                 imagePullPolicy: Always
                 lifecycle:
                   preStop:
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ spec:
           template:
             spec:
               containers:
-              - image: quay.io/modh/ray@sha256:0d715f92570a2997381b7cafc0e224cfa25323f18b9545acfd23bc2b71576d06
+              - image: "${image}"
                 imagePullPolicy: Always
                 lifecycle:
                   preStop:
diff --git a/tests/test_cluster_yamls/ray/default-ray-cluster.yaml b/tests/test_cluster_yamls/ray/default-ray-cluster.yaml
index 34de53d2b..056479e62 100644
--- a/tests/test_cluster_yamls/ray/default-ray-cluster.yaml
+++ b/tests/test_cluster_yamls/ray/default-ray-cluster.yaml
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ spec:
     template:
       spec:
         containers:
-        - image: quay.io/modh/ray@sha256:0d715f92570a2997381b7cafc0e224cfa25323f18b9545acfd23bc2b71576d06
+        - image: "${image}"
           imagePullPolicy: Always
           lifecycle:
             preStop:
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ spec:
     template:
       spec:
         containers:
-        - image: quay.io/modh/ray@sha256:0d715f92570a2997381b7cafc0e224cfa25323f18b9545acfd23bc2b71576d06
+        - image: "${image}"
           imagePullPolicy: Always
           lifecycle:
             preStop: