diff --git a/hack/jenkins/e2e-runner.sh b/hack/jenkins/e2e-runner.sh
index ffe242fc819..2f1a4df23da 100755
--- a/hack/jenkins/e2e-runner.sh
+++ b/hack/jenkins/e2e-runner.sh
@@ -226,7 +226,7 @@ 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}"
-  export GCE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT=$(gcloud auth list 2> /dev/null | grep active | cut -f3 -d' ')
+  unset GCE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT  # Use checked in credentials, not the metadata server
   unset KUBEKINS_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_FILE
 elif [[ -n "${KUBEKINS_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_FILE:-}" ]]; then
   echo "ERROR: cannot access service account file at: ${KUBEKINS_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_FILE}"