diff --git a/timeseries/src/main/scala/com/criteo/cuttle/timeseries/CuttleProject.scala b/timeseries/src/main/scala/com/criteo/cuttle/timeseries/CuttleProject.scala
index e043222d8..250b9c9a3 100644
--- a/timeseries/src/main/scala/com/criteo/cuttle/timeseries/CuttleProject.scala
+++ b/timeseries/src/main/scala/com/criteo/cuttle/timeseries/CuttleProject.scala
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ class CuttleProject private[cuttle] (val name: String,
     * @param stateRetention If specified, automatically clean the timeseries state older than the given duration.
     * @param logsRetention If specified, automatically clean the execution logs older than the given duration.
     * @param maxVersionsHistory If specified keep only the version information for the x latest versions.
+    * @param jobsToBePausedOnStartup Automatically pause those jobs at startup. Ignored if `paused == true`.
     */
   def start(
     platforms: Seq[ExecutionPlatform] = CuttleProject.defaultPlatforms,
@@ -40,7 +41,8 @@ class CuttleProject private[cuttle] (val name: String,
     paused: Boolean = false,
     stateRetention: Option[Duration] = None,
     logsRetention: Option[Duration] = None,
-    maxVersionsHistory: Option[Int] = None
+    maxVersionsHistory: Option[Int] = None,
+    jobsToBePausedOnStartup: Set[Job[TimeSeries]] = Set.empty
   ): Unit = {
     val (routes, startScheduler) =
       build(platforms, databaseConfig, retryStrategy, paused, stateRetention, logsRetention, maxVersionsHistory)
@@ -66,6 +68,7 @@ class CuttleProject private[cuttle] (val name: String,
     * @param stateRetention If specified, automatically clean the timeseries state older than the given duration.
     * @param logsRetention If specified, automatically clean the execution logs older than the given duration.
     * @param maxVersionsHistory If specified keep only the version information for the x latest versions.
+    * @param jobsToBePausedOnStartup Automatically pause those jobs at startup. Ignored if `paused == true`.
     *
     * @return a tuple with cuttleRoutes (needed to start a server) and a function to start the scheduler
     */
@@ -76,7 +79,8 @@ class CuttleProject private[cuttle] (val name: String,
     paused: Boolean = false,
     stateRetention: Option[Duration] = None,
     logsRetention: Option[Duration] = None,
-    maxVersionsHistory: Option[Int] = None
+    maxVersionsHistory: Option[Int] = None,
+    jobsToBePausedOnStartup: Set[Job[TimeSeries]] = Set.empty
   ): (Service, () => Unit) = {
     val xa = CuttleDatabase.connect(databaseConfig)(logger)
     val executor = new Executor[TimeSeries](platforms, xa, logger, name, version, logsRetention)(retryStrategy)
@@ -86,6 +90,12 @@ class CuttleProject private[cuttle] (val name: String,
       if (paused) {
         logger.info("Pausing workflow")
         scheduler.pauseJobs(jobs.all, executor, xa)(Auth.User("Startup"))
+      } else {
+        val toPause = jobs.all.intersect(jobsToBePausedOnStartup)
+        if (toPause.nonEmpty) {
+          logger.info(s"Pausing ${toPause.map(j => s"${j.name} (${j.id})").mkString(", ")}")
+          scheduler.pauseJobs(toPause, executor, xa)(Auth.User("Startup"))
+        }
       }
       logger.info("Start workflow")
       scheduler.start(jobs, executor, xa, logger)