diff --git a/src/ContentProcessor/src/libs/utils/azure_credential_utils.py b/src/ContentProcessor/src/libs/utils/azure_credential_utils.py
index 3344379c..0e30c658 100644
--- a/src/ContentProcessor/src/libs/utils/azure_credential_utils.py
+++ b/src/ContentProcessor/src/libs/utils/azure_credential_utils.py
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ async def get_async_bearer_token_provider():
     Returns:
         A callable suitable for SDK clients that accept a token provider.
     """
-    credential = await get_async_azure_credential()
+    credential = get_async_azure_credential()
     return identity_get_async_bearer_token_provider(
         credential, "https://cognitiveservices.azure.com/.default"
     )
@@ -191,11 +191,24 @@ def get_async_azure_credential():
         logging.info(f"[AUTH] Using {credential_name} for local development")
         return credential
 
-    # Final fallback to DefaultAzureCredential
+    app_env = os.getenv("APP_ENV", "prod").lower()
+    if app_env == "prod":
+        client_id = os.getenv("AZURE_CLIENT_ID")
+        if client_id:
+            logging.info(
+                "[AUTH] APP_ENV=prod -> using async user-assigned managed identity: %s",
+                client_id,
+            )
+            return AsyncManagedIdentityCredential(client_id=client_id)
+        logging.info(
+            "[AUTH] APP_ENV=prod -> using async system-assigned managed identity"
+        )
+        return AsyncManagedIdentityCredential()
+
     logging.info(
-        "[AUTH] All async CLI credentials failed - falling back to AsyncDefaultAzureCredential"
+        "[AUTH] APP_ENV=%s -> falling back to AsyncDefaultAzureCredential", app_env
     )
-    return AsyncDefaultAzureCredential()
+    return AsyncDefaultAzureCredential()  # CodeQL [SM05139] Okay use of DefaultAzureCredential as it is only used in development
 
 
 def validate_azure_authentication() -> dict[str, Any]:
diff --git a/src/ContentProcessor/src/libs/utils/credential_util.py b/src/ContentProcessor/src/libs/utils/credential_util.py
index 791ab42c..cd03dcb9 100644
--- a/src/ContentProcessor/src/libs/utils/credential_util.py
+++ b/src/ContentProcessor/src/libs/utils/credential_util.py
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ async def get_async_bearer_token_provider():
     Returns:
         A callable suitable for SDK clients that accept a token provider.
     """
-    credential = await get_async_azure_credential()
+    credential = get_async_azure_credential()
     return identity_get_async_bearer_token_provider(
         credential, "https://cognitiveservices.azure.com/.default"
     )
diff --git a/src/tests/ContentProcessor/utils/test_azure_credential_utils.py b/src/tests/ContentProcessor/utils/test_azure_credential_utils.py
index 7f0f88a0..e684b34c 100644
--- a/src/tests/ContentProcessor/utils/test_azure_credential_utils.py
+++ b/src/tests/ContentProcessor/utils/test_azure_credential_utils.py
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ def test_returns_async_user_assigned_with_client_id(self, mock_async_managed):
         side_effect=Exception("no azd"),
     )
     @patch(f"{MODULE}.AsyncAzureCliCredential", side_effect=Exception("no az"))
-    @patch.dict("os.environ", {}, clear=True)
+    @patch.dict("os.environ", {"APP_ENV": "dev"}, clear=True)
     def test_falls_back_to_async_default(
         self, mock_async_cli, mock_async_dev_cli, mock_async_default
     ):
diff --git a/src/tests/ContentProcessor/utils/test_azure_credential_utils_extended.py b/src/tests/ContentProcessor/utils/test_azure_credential_utils_extended.py
index edd735d8..8f538756 100644
--- a/src/tests/ContentProcessor/utils/test_azure_credential_utils_extended.py
+++ b/src/tests/ContentProcessor/utils/test_azure_credential_utils_extended.py
@@ -109,6 +109,7 @@ def test_get_async_azure_credential_cli_fallback(self, monkeypatch):
         for key in ["WEBSITE_SITE_NAME", "AZURE_CLIENT_ID", "MSI_ENDPOINT",
                     "IDENTITY_ENDPOINT", "KUBERNETES_SERVICE_HOST"]:
             monkeypatch.delenv(key, raising=False)
+        monkeypatch.setenv("APP_ENV", "dev")
 
         with patch('libs.utils.azure_credential_utils.AsyncAzureCliCredential') as mock_cli, \
              patch('libs.utils.azure_credential_utils.AsyncAzureDeveloperCliCredential') as mock_azd, \
@@ -149,10 +150,7 @@ async def test_get_async_bearer_token_provider_success(self, monkeypatch):
         """Test async bearer token provider creation"""
         monkeypatch.setenv("MSI_ENDPOINT", "http://localhost")
 
-        # Create an async mock
-        from unittest.mock import AsyncMock
-
-        with patch('libs.utils.azure_credential_utils.get_async_azure_credential', new_callable=AsyncMock) as mock_get_cred, \
+        with patch('libs.utils.azure_credential_utils.get_async_azure_credential') as mock_get_cred, \
              patch('libs.utils.azure_credential_utils.identity_get_async_bearer_token_provider') as mock_provider:
 
             mock_credential = Mock()