diff --git a/hack/jenkins/e2e-image/Dockerfile b/hack/jenkins/e2e-image/Dockerfile
index afed7b5c218..cc6d3f3a6c6 100644
--- a/hack/jenkins/e2e-image/Dockerfile
+++ b/hack/jenkins/e2e-image/Dockerfile
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ ENV FAIL_ON_GCP_RESOURCE_LEAK=true \
     KUBE_GCE_ZONE=us-central1-f
 
 # Variable specific to the machine:
-# KUBEKINS_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_FILE
+# GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS
 # JENKINS_GCE_SSH_PRIVATE_KEY_FILE
 # JENKINS_GCE_SSH_PUBLIC_KEY_FILE
 # JENKINS_AWS_SSH_PRIVATE_KEY_FILE
diff --git a/hack/jenkins/e2e-runner.sh b/hack/jenkins/e2e-runner.sh
index 0679e34e313..8ae3c859701 100755
--- a/hack/jenkins/e2e-runner.sh
+++ b/hack/jenkins/e2e-runner.sh
@@ -212,6 +212,10 @@ if running_in_docker; then
     fi
 fi
 
+if [[ -n "${GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS:-}" ]]; then
+  gcloud auth activate-service-account --key-file="${GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS}"
+fi
+
 # Install gcloud from a custom path if provided. Used to test GKE with gcloud
 # at HEAD, release candidate.
 # TODO: figure out how to avoid installing the cloud sdk twice if run inside Docker.
@@ -237,16 +241,6 @@ if [[ -n "${JENKINS_GCI_IMAGE_FAMILY:-}" ]]; then
   setup_gci_vars
 fi
 
-if [[ -f "${KUBEKINS_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_FILE:-}" ]]; then
-  echo 'Activating service account...'  # No harm in doing this multiple times.
-  gcloud auth activate-service-account --key-file="${KUBEKINS_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_FILE}"
-  # https://developers.google.com/identity/protocols/application-default-credentials
-  export GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS="${KUBEKINS_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_FILE}"
-  unset KUBEKINS_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_FILE
-elif [[ -n "${KUBEKINS_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_FILE:-}" ]]; then
-  echo "ERROR: cannot access service account file at: ${KUBEKINS_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_FILE}"
-fi
-
 echo "--------------------------------------------------------------------------------"
 echo "Test Environment:"
 printenv | sort
diff --git a/test/e2e_node/jenkins/e2e-node-jenkins.sh b/test/e2e_node/jenkins/e2e-node-jenkins.sh
index 0e0a2393ded..92fdbe96e5a 100755
--- a/test/e2e_node/jenkins/e2e-node-jenkins.sh
+++ b/test/e2e_node/jenkins/e2e-node-jenkins.sh
@@ -41,16 +41,6 @@ ARTIFACTS=${WORKSPACE}/_artifacts
 
 mkdir -p ${ARTIFACTS}
 
-if [[ -f "${KUBEKINS_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_FILE:-}" ]]; then
-  echo 'Activating service account...'  # No harm in doing this multiple times.
-  gcloud auth activate-service-account --key-file="${KUBEKINS_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_FILE}"
-  # https://developers.google.com/identity/protocols/application-default-credentials
-  export GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS="${KUBEKINS_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_FILE}"
-  unset KUBEKINS_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_FILE
-elif [[ -n "${KUBEKINS_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_FILE:-}" ]]; then
-  echo "ERROR: cannot access service account file at: ${KUBEKINS_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_FILE}"
-fi
-
 go run test/e2e_node/runner/run_e2e.go  --logtostderr --vmodule=*=4 --ssh-env="gce" \
   --zone="$GCE_ZONE" --project="$GCE_PROJECT" --hosts="$GCE_HOSTS" \
   --images="$GCE_IMAGES" --image-project="$GCE_IMAGE_PROJECT" \