diff --git a/hack/make-rules/test-e2e-node.sh b/hack/make-rules/test-e2e-node.sh
index eb756431f55..54f6645b5af 100755
--- a/hack/make-rules/test-e2e-node.sh
+++ b/hack/make-rules/test-e2e-node.sh
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ system_spec_name=${SYSTEM_SPEC_NAME:-}
 extra_envs=${EXTRA_ENVS:-}
 runtime_config=${RUNTIME_CONFIG:-}
 ssh_user=${SSH_USER:-}
-ssh_key=${SSH_KEY:-}
+ssh_key=${SSH_KEY:-${GCE_SSH_PRIVATE_KEY_FILE:-${USER}/.ssh/google_compute_engine}}
 
 # Parse the flags to pass to ginkgo
 ginkgoflags=""