diff --git a/hive-jobq/src/builder.rs b/hive-jobq/src/builder.rs
index 2a6a07d4..ed894cae 100644
--- a/hive-jobq/src/builder.rs
+++ b/hive-jobq/src/builder.rs
@@ -82,6 +82,32 @@ pub enum BuildError {
         /// The handle that resolved to nothing.
         node: NodeGuid,
     },
+    /// An edge leaves the depender's own parent group — including an edge onto
+    /// its **own parent**, which would deadlock: a parent parks in
+    /// `Finishing` until its children settle, so a child waiting on it could
+    /// never run. The graph enforces the same rule
+    /// (`GraphError::DepOutsideParent`); this catches it before any insert.
+    #[error(
+        "node {node:?} depends on {dep:?}, which is outside its parent group — \
+         an edge must stay within the depender's own group"
+    )]
+    DepOutsideGroup {
+        /// The node carrying the edge.
+        node: NodeGuid,
+        /// The out-of-group target.
+        dep: NodeGuid,
+    },
+    /// An edge that no outcome can satisfy (an empty [`DepWhen`]), so the node
+    /// could never become runnable. Refused at declaration rather than
+    /// inserted — the graph only catches this when validating a *deserialized*
+    /// graph, so without this check it would insert and silently never run.
+    #[error("node {node:?} has an edge on {dep:?} that no outcome can satisfy")]
+    UnsatisfiableDep {
+        /// The node carrying the edge.
+        node: NodeGuid,
+        /// The target of the unsatisfiable edge.
+        dep: NodeGuid,
+    },
     /// The graph rejected an otherwise well-formed node — an out-of-group edge,
     /// an unsatisfiable [`DepWhen`], and so on.
     #[error(transparent)]
@@ -89,30 +115,60 @@ pub enum BuildError {
 }
 
 /// Reject a job whose own declarations don't hold up — **before anything is
-/// inserted**, so these three failures cannot leave a partial job behind.
+/// inserted**, so no failure can leave a partial job behind.
 ///
-/// Each is decidable from what the builder already holds: a node may only name
-/// handles declared before it, and a job may only ask for handles it declared.
-/// Running this first is what lets the insert loop index `ids` directly instead
-/// of discovering a bad reference halfway through mutating the graph.
+/// This covers *every* rejection [`crate::Graph::insert`] can raise for a
+/// builder-produced node, which is what makes the insert loop below infallible
+/// in practice:
+///
+/// | graph rejection | why it cannot reach the graph |
+/// |---|---|
+/// | `UnknownParent` / `UnknownDep` | a handle only exists if this job declared it, and the ids are minted here |
+/// | `DepOutsideParent` | the grouping rule is re-checked here against the job's own parent chains |
+///
+/// It also rejects an **empty [`DepWhen`]**, which the graph currently only
+/// catches on the deserialize path (`Graph::validate`) — so a node that nothing
+/// could ever satisfy is refused at declaration instead of being inserted and
+/// silently never running.
+///
+/// `root_parent` matters for the grouping rule: a node that declared no parent
+/// hangs there, so what counts as "inside the group" depends on whether the job
+/// is being attached under a container or at the top level.
 ///
 /// # Errors
 /// [`BuildError::ForwardEdge`] / [`BuildError::ForwardParent`] for a reference
 /// to a later node, [`BuildError::UnknownNode`] for a requested handle this job
-/// never declared.
-fn check_declaration_order<N, R>(
+/// never declared, [`BuildError::DepOutsideGroup`] for an edge leaving the
+/// depender's parent group, [`BuildError::UnsatisfiableDep`] for an empty edge.
+fn check_job_shape<N, R>(
     pending: &[Pending<N, R>],
     wanted: &[NodeGuid],
+    root_parent: Option<NodeId>,
 ) -> Result<(), BuildError> {
     let mut declared: std::collections::HashSet<NodeGuid> = std::collections::HashSet::new();
+    // Declared parent per node, for walking a job-internal parent chain.
+    let mut parent_of: HashMap<NodeGuid, Option<NodeGuid>> = HashMap::new();
+
     for node in pending {
-        for (dep, _) in &node.deps {
+        for (dep, when) in &node.deps {
             if !declared.contains(dep) {
                 return Err(BuildError::ForwardEdge {
                     node: node.guid,
                     dep: *dep,
                 });
             }
+            if when.is_empty() {
+                return Err(BuildError::UnsatisfiableDep {
+                    node: node.guid,
+                    dep: *dep,
+                });
+            }
+            if !dep_in_group(&parent_of, node.parent, *dep, root_parent) {
+                return Err(BuildError::DepOutsideGroup {
+                    node: node.guid,
+                    dep: *dep,
+                });
+            }
         }
         if let Some(parent) = node.parent
             && !declared.contains(&parent)
@@ -123,6 +179,7 @@ fn check_declaration_order<N, R>(
             });
         }
         declared.insert(node.guid);
+        parent_of.insert(node.guid, node.parent);
     }
     for guid in wanted {
         if !declared.contains(guid) {
@@ -132,6 +189,42 @@ fn check_declaration_order<N, R>(
     Ok(())
 }
 
+/// The graph's grouping rule (`Graph::dep_target_in_group`) decided against the
+/// job's own declarations, before any node exists.
+///
+/// A depender whose declared parent is `Some(q)` may only name a **proper
+/// descendant of `q`** — never `q` itself, which would deadlock (a parent parks
+/// in `Finishing` until its children settle). A depender that declared no parent
+/// hangs under `root_parent`:
+/// - `root_parent = Some(_)` — every node in this job is somewhere under it, so
+///   any job-internal target is in-group.
+/// - `root_parent = None` — the depender is top-level, so the target must be
+///   top-level too, i.e. it must also have declared no parent.
+fn dep_in_group(
+    parent_of: &HashMap<NodeGuid, Option<NodeGuid>>,
+    node_parent: Option<NodeGuid>,
+    dep: NodeGuid,
+    root_parent: Option<NodeId>,
+) -> bool {
+    match node_parent {
+        // Walk the target's declared chain looking for the depender's parent.
+        // Starts at the target's *parent*, so the target is never its own
+        // ancestor — matching `Graph::is_descendant`.
+        Some(group) => {
+            let mut cur = parent_of.get(&dep).copied().flatten();
+            while let Some(p) = cur {
+                if p == group {
+                    return true;
+                }
+                cur = parent_of.get(&p).copied().flatten();
+            }
+            false
+        }
+        None if root_parent.is_some() => true,
+        None => parent_of.get(&dep).copied().flatten().is_none(),
+    }
+}
+
 /// One node as the builder holds it: edges and parent still name *handles*, so
 /// nothing here depends on ids the graph has not minted yet.
 #[derive(Debug)]
@@ -227,7 +320,7 @@ impl<N, R> JobBuilder<N, R> {
         mut insert: impl FnMut(N, Vec<Dep<R>>, Option<NodeId>) -> Result<NodeId, GraphError>,
     ) -> Result<Vec<NodeId>, BuildError> {
         let pending = self.nodes.into_inner();
-        check_declaration_order(&pending, wanted)?;
+        check_job_shape(&pending, wanted, root_parent)?;
 
         let mut ids: HashMap<NodeGuid, NodeId> = HashMap::new();
         for node in pending {
@@ -590,10 +683,15 @@ mod tests {
         );
     }
 
-    /// The graph's own validation still applies — the builder does not
-    /// pre-empt it.
+    /// The grouping rule is enforced **before the first insert**, so a job that
+    /// breaks it leaves the graph untouched rather than half-built.
+    ///
+    /// This used to assert `BuildError::Graph(_)` — i.e. that the graph's own
+    /// rejection surfaced through the builder. It does not reach the graph any
+    /// more: the same rule is now decided from the job's own declarations, and
+    /// the stronger property (nothing was inserted) is what this pins.
     #[test]
-    fn graph_rejection_surfaces_as_is() {
+    fn an_out_of_group_dep_is_refused_before_anything_is_inserted() {
         let mut g = sched();
         let err = g
             .insert_job(None, |b| {
@@ -604,7 +702,29 @@ mod tests {
                 Vec::new()
             })
             .expect_err("out-of-group dep");
-        assert!(matches!(err, BuildError::Graph(_)), "{err:?}");
+        assert!(matches!(err, BuildError::DepOutsideGroup { .. }), "{err:?}");
+        assert_eq!(g.graph().nodes().count(), 0, "nothing may have landed");
+    }
+
+    /// An edge no outcome can satisfy is refused at declaration. The graph only
+    /// catches this when validating a deserialized graph, so without the
+    /// pre-pass such a node would insert cleanly and then never become
+    /// runnable — a silent hang rather than an error.
+    #[test]
+    fn an_edge_no_outcome_can_satisfy_is_refused() {
+        let mut g = sched();
+        let err = g
+            .insert_job(None, |b| {
+                let first = b.node("a");
+                let _ = b.node("b").on_outcome(first, &[]);
+                Vec::new()
+            })
+            .expect_err("unsatisfiable edge");
+        assert!(
+            matches!(err, BuildError::UnsatisfiableDep { .. }),
+            "{err:?}"
+        );
+        assert_eq!(g.graph().nodes().count(), 0, "nothing may have landed");
     }
 
     /// A job's own roots hang under the group's attachment point, while a node