diff --git a/cmd/lingo/main.go b/cmd/lingo/main.go
index 6c4d8c38..7bfec8f0 100644
--- a/cmd/lingo/main.go
+++ b/cmd/lingo/main.go
@@ -107,6 +107,7 @@ func run() error {
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("clientset: %w", err)
 	}
+	ctx := ctrl.SetupSignalHandler()
 
 	hostname, err := os.Hostname()
 	if err != nil {
@@ -134,6 +135,9 @@ func run() error {
 	deploymentManager.Namespace = namespace
 	deploymentManager.ScaleDownPeriod = time.Duration(scaleDownDelay) * time.Second
 	deployments.NewMetricsCollector(deploymentManager).MustRegister(metricsRegistry)
+	if err := mgr.AddReadyzCheck("readyz", deploymentManager.ReadinessChecker); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("setup readiness handler: %w", err)
+	}
 
 	autoscaler, err := autoscaler.New(mgr)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -157,8 +161,6 @@ func run() error {
 	}
 	statsServer := &http.Server{Addr: ":8083", Handler: statsHandler}
 
-	ctx := ctrl.SetupSignalHandler()
-
 	var wg sync.WaitGroup
 	wg.Add(1)
 	go func() {
@@ -188,6 +190,13 @@ func run() error {
 		setupLog.Info("manager stopped")
 	}()
 
+	if ok := mgr.GetCache().WaitForCacheSync(ctx); !ok {
+		return fmt.Errorf("client cache could not be synced")
+	}
+	if err := deploymentManager.Bootstrap(ctx); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("bootstrap deloyment manager: %w", err)
+	}
+
 	if err := proxyServer.ListenAndServe(); err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("listen and serve: %w", err)
 	}
diff --git a/deploy/lingo_deploy.yaml b/deploy/lingo_deploy.yaml
index 593ca5c8..e76f4d10 100644
--- a/deploy/lingo_deploy.yaml
+++ b/deploy/lingo_deploy.yaml
@@ -24,3 +24,14 @@ spec:
               valueFrom:
                 fieldRef:
                   fieldPath: metadata.namespace
+          readinessProbe:
+            httpGet:
+              path: /readyz
+              port: 8081
+            initialDelaySeconds: 1
+            periodSeconds: 5
+          livenessProbe:
+            tcpSocket:
+              port: 8080
+            initialDelaySeconds: 15
+            periodSeconds: 20
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 9045ef29..1895ae6a 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -3,6 +3,10 @@ module github.com/substratusai/lingo
 go 1.21.0
 
 require (
+	github.com/go-logr/logr v1.2.4
+	github.com/google/uuid v1.4.0
+	github.com/prometheus/client_golang v1.16.0
+	github.com/prometheus/client_model v0.4.0
 	github.com/stretchr/testify v1.8.4
 	k8s.io/api v0.28.3
 	k8s.io/apimachinery v0.28.3
@@ -16,9 +20,9 @@ require (
 	github.com/cespare/xxhash/v2 v2.2.0 // indirect
 	github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.1 // indirect
 	github.com/emicklei/go-restful/v3 v3.11.0 // indirect
+	github.com/evanphx/json-patch v5.6.0+incompatible // indirect
 	github.com/evanphx/json-patch/v5 v5.6.0 // indirect
 	github.com/fsnotify/fsnotify v1.6.0 // indirect
-	github.com/go-logr/logr v1.2.4 // indirect
 	github.com/go-logr/zapr v1.2.4 // indirect
 	github.com/go-openapi/jsonpointer v0.19.6 // indirect
 	github.com/go-openapi/jsonreference v0.20.2 // indirect
@@ -29,7 +33,6 @@ require (
 	github.com/google/gnostic-models v0.6.8 // indirect
 	github.com/google/go-cmp v0.5.9 // indirect
 	github.com/google/gofuzz v1.2.0 // indirect
-	github.com/google/uuid v1.4.0 // indirect
 	github.com/imdario/mergo v0.3.6 // indirect
 	github.com/josharian/intern v1.0.0 // indirect
 	github.com/json-iterator/go v1.1.12 // indirect
@@ -40,8 +43,6 @@ require (
 	github.com/munnerz/goautoneg v0.0.0-20191010083416-a7dc8b61c822 // indirect
 	github.com/pkg/errors v0.9.1 // indirect
 	github.com/pmezard/go-difflib v1.0.0 // indirect
-	github.com/prometheus/client_golang v1.16.0 // indirect
-	github.com/prometheus/client_model v0.4.0 // indirect
 	github.com/prometheus/common v0.44.0 // indirect
 	github.com/prometheus/procfs v0.10.1 // indirect
 	github.com/spf13/pflag v1.0.5 // indirect
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index c838eda3..4fea5e22 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -49,8 +49,6 @@ github.com/google/gofuzz v1.2.0 h1:xRy4A+RhZaiKjJ1bPfwQ8sedCA+YS2YcCHW6ec7JMi0=
 github.com/google/gofuzz v1.2.0/go.mod h1:dBl0BpW6vV/+mYPU4Po3pmUjxk6FQPldtuIdl/M65Eg=
 github.com/google/pprof v0.0.0-20210720184732-4bb14d4b1be1 h1:K6RDEckDVWvDI9JAJYCmNdQXq6neHJOYx3V6jnqNEec=
 github.com/google/pprof v0.0.0-20210720184732-4bb14d4b1be1/go.mod h1:kpwsk12EmLew5upagYY7GY0pfYCcupk39gWOCRROcvE=
-github.com/google/uuid v1.3.0 h1:t6JiXgmwXMjEs8VusXIJk2BXHsn+wx8BZdTaoZ5fu7I=
-github.com/google/uuid v1.3.0/go.mod h1:TIyPZe4MgqvfeYDBFedMoGGpEw/LqOeaOT+nhxU+yHo=
 github.com/google/uuid v1.4.0 h1:MtMxsa51/r9yyhkyLsVeVt0B+BGQZzpQiTQ4eHZ8bc4=
 github.com/google/uuid v1.4.0/go.mod h1:TIyPZe4MgqvfeYDBFedMoGGpEw/LqOeaOT+nhxU+yHo=
 github.com/imdario/mergo v0.3.6 h1:xTNEAn+kxVO7dTZGu0CegyqKZmoWFI0rF8UxjlB2d28=
diff --git a/pkg/deployments/manager.go b/pkg/deployments/manager.go
index feebfcc1..a008dd70 100644
--- a/pkg/deployments/manager.go
+++ b/pkg/deployments/manager.go
@@ -4,9 +4,11 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
 	"log"
+	"net/http"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
+	"sync/atomic"
 	"time"
 
 	appsv1 "k8s.io/api/apps/v1"
@@ -47,6 +49,8 @@ type Manager struct {
 	// modelToDeployment maps model names to deployment names. A single deployment
 	// can serve multiple models.
 	modelToDeployment map[string]string
+
+	bootstrapped atomic.Bool
 }
 
 func (r *Manager) SetupWithManager(mgr ctrl.Manager) error {
@@ -73,33 +77,41 @@ func (r *Manager) Reconcile(ctx context.Context, req ctrl.Request) (ctrl.Result,
 		return ctrl.Result{}, fmt.Errorf("get: %w", err)
 	}
 
-	if ann := d.GetAnnotations(); ann != nil {
-		modelCSV, ok := ann[lingoDomain+"/models"]
-		if !ok {
-			return ctrl.Result{}, nil
-		}
-		models := strings.Split(modelCSV, ",")
-		if len(models) == 0 {
-			return ctrl.Result{}, nil
-		}
-		for _, model := range models {
-			r.setModelMapping(strings.TrimSpace(model), d.Name)
-		}
-	}
+	return ctrl.Result{}, r.addDeployment(ctx, d)
+}
 
+func (r *Manager) addDeployment(ctx context.Context, d appsv1.Deployment) error {
+	models := getModelsFromAnnotation(d.GetAnnotations())
+	if len(models) == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
+	for _, model := range models {
+		r.setModelMapping(strings.TrimSpace(model), d.Name)
+	}
 	var scale autoscalingv1.Scale
 	if err := r.SubResource("scale").Get(ctx, &d, &scale); err != nil {
-		return ctrl.Result{}, fmt.Errorf("get scale: %w", err)
+		return fmt.Errorf("get scale: %w", err)
 	}
 
-	deploymentName := req.Name
+	deploymentName := d.Name
 	r.getScaler(deploymentName).UpdateState(
 		scale.Spec.Replicas,
 		getAnnotationInt32(d.GetAnnotations(), lingoDomain+"/min-replicas", 0),
 		getAnnotationInt32(d.GetAnnotations(), lingoDomain+"/max-replicas", 3),
 	)
 
-	return ctrl.Result{}, nil
+	return nil
+}
+
+func getModelsFromAnnotation(ann map[string]string) []string {
+	if len(ann) == 0 {
+		return []string{}
+	}
+	modelCSV, ok := ann[lingoDomain+"/models"]
+	if !ok {
+		return []string{}
+	}
+	return strings.Split(modelCSV, ",")
 }
 
 func (r *Manager) removeDeployment(req ctrl.Request) {
@@ -192,6 +204,31 @@ func (r *Manager) ResolveDeployment(model string) (string, bool) {
 	return deploy, ok
 }
 
+// Bootstrap initializes the Manager by retrieving a list of deployments from the k8s cluster and adding them to the Manager's internal state.
+func (r *Manager) Bootstrap(ctx context.Context) error {
+	var sliceList appsv1.DeploymentList
+	if err := r.List(ctx, &sliceList, client.InNamespace(r.Namespace)); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("list deployments: %w", err)
+	}
+	for _, d := range sliceList.Items {
+		if err := r.addDeployment(ctx, d); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+	}
+	r.bootstrapped.Store(true)
+	return nil
+}
+
+// ReadinessChecker checks if the Manager state is loaded and ready to handle requests.
+// It returns an error if Manager is not bootstrapped yet.
+// To be used with sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime manager `AddReadyzCheck`
+func (r *Manager) ReadinessChecker(_ *http.Request) error {
+	if !r.bootstrapped.Load() {
+		return fmt.Errorf("not boostrapped yet")
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
 func getAnnotationInt32(ann map[string]string, key string, defaultValue int32) int32 {
 	if ann == nil {
 		return defaultValue
diff --git a/pkg/deployments/manager_test.go b/pkg/deployments/manager_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..12cba718
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/deployments/manager_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,156 @@
+package deployments
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"reflect"
+	"testing"
+
+	appsv1 "k8s.io/api/apps/v1"
+	autoscalingv1 "k8s.io/api/autoscaling/v1"
+	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
+
+	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/client"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+	rtfake "sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/client/fake"
+)
+
+func TestReadinessChecker(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := map[string]struct {
+		bootstrapped bool
+		expectError  bool
+	}{
+		"not_bootstrapped": {
+			expectError: true,
+		},
+		"bootstrapped": {
+			bootstrapped: true,
+			expectError:  false,
+		},
+	}
+	for name, spec := range tests {
+		t.Run(name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			mgr := &Manager{
+				Client: rtfake.NewClientBuilder().Build(),
+			}
+			if spec.bootstrapped {
+				require.NoError(t, mgr.Bootstrap(context.TODO()))
+			}
+			// when
+			gotErr := mgr.ReadinessChecker(nil)
+			if spec.expectError {
+
+				assert.Error(t, gotErr)
+				return
+			}
+			assert.NoError(t, gotErr)
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAddDeployment(t *testing.T) {
+	specs := map[string]struct {
+		deployment    appsv1.Deployment
+		expScale      scale
+		expectedError error
+		expModels     []string
+	}{
+		"single model - default replica settings": {
+			deployment: appsv1.Deployment{
+				ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
+					Name: "my-deployment",
+					Annotations: map[string]string{
+						lingoDomain + "/models": "my-model1",
+					},
+				},
+			},
+			expModels: []string{"my-model1"},
+			expScale:  scale{Current: 3, Min: 0, Max: 3},
+		},
+		"single model - annotated": {
+			deployment: appsv1.Deployment{
+				ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
+					Name: "my-deployment",
+					Annotations: map[string]string{
+						lingoDomain + "/models":       "my-model1",
+						lingoDomain + "/min-replicas": "2",
+						lingoDomain + "/max-replicas": "5",
+					},
+				},
+			},
+			expModels: []string{"my-model1"},
+			expScale:  scale{Current: 3, Min: 2, Max: 5},
+		},
+		"multi model": {
+			deployment: appsv1.Deployment{
+				ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
+					Name: "my-deployment",
+					Annotations: map[string]string{
+						lingoDomain + "/models": "my-model1,my-model2",
+					},
+				},
+			},
+			expModels: []string{"my-model1", "my-model2"},
+			expScale:  scale{Current: 3, Min: 0, Max: 3},
+		},
+		"no model - skipped": {
+			deployment: appsv1.Deployment{
+				ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
+					Name:        "my-deployment",
+					Annotations: map[string]string{},
+				},
+			},
+		},
+	}
+	for name, spec := range specs {
+		t.Run(name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			depScale := &autoscalingv1.Scale{
+				Spec: autoscalingv1.ScaleSpec{
+					Replicas: 3,
+				},
+			}
+
+			r := &Manager{
+				Client:            &partialFakeClient{subRes: depScale},
+				Namespace:         "default",
+				modelToDeployment: make(map[string]string),
+				scalers:           map[string]*scaler{},
+			}
+
+			// when
+			gotErr := r.addDeployment(context.Background(), spec.deployment)
+
+			// then
+			require.NoError(t, gotErr)
+
+			for _, v := range spec.expModels {
+				dep, ok := r.ResolveDeployment(v)
+				require.True(t, ok)
+				assert.Equal(t, "my-deployment", dep)
+			}
+			assert.Len(t, r.modelToDeployment, len(spec.expModels))
+			scales := r.getScalesSnapshot()
+			assert.Equal(t, spec.expScale, scales["my-deployment"])
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+type partialFakeClient struct {
+	client.Client
+	subRes client.Object
+}
+
+func (f *partialFakeClient) SubResource(subResource string) client.SubResourceClient {
+	return &partialSubResFakeClient{sourceSubRes: &f.subRes}
+}
+
+type partialSubResFakeClient struct {
+	client.SubResourceClient
+	sourceSubRes *client.Object
+}
+
+func (f *partialSubResFakeClient) Get(ctx context.Context, obj client.Object, target client.Object, opts ...client.SubResourceGetOption) error {
+	reflect.ValueOf(target).Elem().Set(reflect.ValueOf(*f.sourceSubRes).Elem())
+	return nil
+}