diff --git a/awx/lib/tower_display_callback/events.py b/awx/lib/tower_display_callback/events.py
index 2ef7220f9a..dccaac397e 100644
--- a/awx/lib/tower_display_callback/events.py
+++ b/awx/lib/tower_display_callback/events.py
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@ import base64
 import contextlib
 import datetime
 import json
-import logging
 import multiprocessing
 import os
 import stat
@@ -30,69 +29,9 @@ import threading
 import uuid
 import memcache
 
-# Kombu
-from kombu import Connection, Exchange, Producer
-
 __all__ = ['event_context']
 
 
-class CallbackQueueEventDispatcher(object):
-
-    def __init__(self):
-        self.callback_connection = os.getenv('CALLBACK_CONNECTION', None)
-        self.connection_queue = os.getenv('CALLBACK_QUEUE', '')
-        self.connection = None
-        self.exchange = None
-        self._init_logging()
-
-    def _init_logging(self):
-        try:
-            self.job_callback_debug = int(os.getenv('JOB_CALLBACK_DEBUG', '0'))
-        except ValueError:
-            self.job_callback_debug = 0
-        self.logger = logging.getLogger('awx.plugins.callback.job_event_callback')
-        if self.job_callback_debug >= 2:
-            self.logger.setLevel(logging.DEBUG)
-        elif self.job_callback_debug >= 1:
-            self.logger.setLevel(logging.INFO)
-        else:
-            self.logger.setLevel(logging.WARNING)
-        handler = logging.StreamHandler()
-        formatter = logging.Formatter('%(levelname)-8s %(process)-8d %(message)s')
-        handler.setFormatter(formatter)
-        self.logger.addHandler(handler)
-        self.logger.propagate = False
-
-    def dispatch(self, obj):
-        if not self.callback_connection or not self.connection_queue:
-            return
-        active_pid = os.getpid()
-        for retry_count in xrange(4):
-            try:
-                if not hasattr(self, 'connection_pid'):
-                    self.connection_pid = active_pid
-                if self.connection_pid != active_pid:
-                    self.connection = None
-                if self.connection is None:
-                    self.connection = Connection(self.callback_connection)
-                    self.exchange = Exchange(self.connection_queue, type='direct')
-
-                producer = Producer(self.connection)
-                producer.publish(obj,
-                                 serializer='json',
-                                 compression='bzip2',
-                                 exchange=self.exchange,
-                                 declare=[self.exchange],
-                                 routing_key=self.connection_queue)
-                return
-            except Exception, e:
-                self.logger.info('Publish Job Event Exception: %r, retry=%d', e,
-                                 retry_count, exc_info=True)
-                retry_count += 1
-                if retry_count >= 3:
-                    break
-
-
 class IsolatedFileWrite:
     '''
     Stand-in class that will write partial event data to a file as a
@@ -123,7 +62,6 @@ class EventContext(object):
 
     def __init__(self):
         self.display_lock = multiprocessing.RLock()
-        self.dispatcher = CallbackQueueEventDispatcher()
         cache_actual = os.getenv('CACHE', '127.0.0.1:11211')
         if os.getenv('AWX_ISOLATED_DATA_DIR', False):
             self.cache = IsolatedFileWrite()
diff --git a/awx/main/isolated/isolated_manager.py b/awx/main/isolated/isolated_manager.py
index e033ed890c..2449b02b49 100644
--- a/awx/main/isolated/isolated_manager.py
+++ b/awx/main/isolated/isolated_manager.py
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ class IsolatedManager(object):
         # strip some environment variables that aren't applicable to isolated
         # execution
         for var in (
-                'RABBITMQ_HOST', 'RABBITMQ_PASS', 'RABBITMQ_USER', 'CACHE',
+                'HOME', 'RABBITMQ_HOST', 'RABBITMQ_PASS', 'RABBITMQ_USER', 'CACHE',
                 'DJANGO_PROJECT_DIR', 'DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE', 'RABBITMQ_VHOST'):
             secrets['env'].pop(var, None)
         self.build_isolated_job_data()
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ class IsolatedManager(object):
         # - sets up a temporary directory for proot/bwrap (if necessary)
         # - copies encrypted job data from the controlling host to the isolated host (with rsync)
         # - writes the encryption secret to a named pipe on the isolated host
-        # - launches the isolated playbook runner via `systemctl start playbook@<job-id>.service`
+        # - launches the isolated playbook runner via `tower-expect start <job-id>`
         args = ['ansible-playbook', '-u', settings.AWX_ISOLATED_USERNAME, '-i',
                 '%s,' % self.host, 'run_isolated.yml', '-e',
                 json.dumps(extra_vars)]
@@ -178,18 +178,18 @@ class IsolatedManager(object):
         if 'AD_HOC_COMMAND_ID' not in self.env:
             os.symlink(self.cwd, self.path_to('project'))
 
-        # create a directory for build artifacts to live in
-        os.mkdir(self.path_to('artifacts'), stat.S_IRUSR | stat.S_IWUSR)
+        # create directories for build artifacts to live in
+        os.makedirs(self.path_to('artifacts', 'job_events'), mode=stat.S_IRUSR | stat.S_IWUSR)
 
     def _missing_artifacts(self, path_list, buff):
         missing_artifacts = filter(lambda path: not os.path.exists(path), path_list)
         for path in missing_artifacts:
-            self.stdout_handle.write('ERROR running isolated job, missing `{}`.\n'.format(path))
+            self.stdout_handle.write('ansible did not exit cleanly, missing `{}`.\n'.format(path))
         if missing_artifacts:
-            systemctl_path = self.path_to('artifacts', 'systemctl_logs')
-            if os.path.exists(systemctl_path):
+            daemon_path = self.path_to('artifacts', 'daemon.log')
+            if os.path.exists(daemon_path):
                 # If available, show log files from the run.py call
-                with codecs.open(systemctl_path, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
+                with codecs.open(daemon_path, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
                     self.stdout_handle.write(f.read())
             else:
                 # Provide the management playbook standard out if not available
diff --git a/awx/main/isolated/run.py b/awx/main/isolated/run.py
old mode 100644
new mode 100755
index fdf4603e2c..95bf4bc8a6
--- a/awx/main/isolated/run.py
+++ b/awx/main/isolated/run.py
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+#! /usr/bin/env python
+
 import argparse
 import base64
 import codecs
@@ -119,7 +121,7 @@ def run_pexpect(args, cwd, env, logfile,
             if isinstance(extra_update_fields, dict):
                 extra_update_fields['job_explanation'] = "Job terminated due to timeout"
         if canceled or timed_out:
-            handle_termination(child, proot_cmd, is_cancel=canceled)
+            handle_termination(child.pid, child.args, proot_cmd, is_cancel=canceled)
         if idle_timeout and (time.time() - last_stdout_update) > idle_timeout:
             child.close(True)
             canceled = True
@@ -194,51 +196,44 @@ def run_isolated_job(private_data_dir, secrets, logfile=sys.stdout):
                        pexpect_timeout=pexpect_timeout)
 
 
-def handle_termination(job, proot_cmd, is_cancel=True):
+def handle_termination(pid, args, proot_cmd, is_cancel=True):
     '''
     Terminate a subprocess spawned by `pexpect`.
 
-    :param job:       the pexpect subprocess running the job.
+    :param pid:       the process id of the running the job.
+    :param args:      the args for the job, i.e., ['ansible-playbook', 'abc.yml']
     :param proot_cmd  the command used to isolate processes i.e., `bwrap`
     :param is_cancel: flag showing whether this termination is caused by
                       instance's cancel_flag.
     '''
     try:
-        if proot_cmd in ' '.join(job.args):
+        if proot_cmd in ' '.join(args):
             if not psutil:
-                os.kill(job.pid, signal.SIGKILL)
+                os.kill(pid, signal.SIGKILL)
             else:
                 try:
-                    main_proc = psutil.Process(pid=job.pid)
+                    main_proc = psutil.Process(pid=pid)
                     child_procs = main_proc.children(recursive=True)
                     for child_proc in child_procs:
                         os.kill(child_proc.pid, signal.SIGKILL)
                     os.kill(main_proc.pid, signal.SIGKILL)
                 except (TypeError, psutil.Error):
-                    os.kill(job.pid, signal.SIGKILL)
+                    os.kill(pid, signal.SIGKILL)
         else:
-            os.kill(job.pid, signal.SIGTERM)
+            os.kill(pid, signal.SIGTERM)
         time.sleep(3)
     except OSError:
         keyword = 'cancel' if is_cancel else 'timeout'
         logger.warn("Attempted to %s already finished job, ignoring" % keyword)
 
 
-if __name__ == '__main__':
-    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description='run an isolated ansible playbook')
-    parser.add_argument('job_id')
-    args = parser.parse_args()
-    private_data_dir = os.readlink('/tmp/ansible_tower/jobs/%s' % args.job_id)
-
+def __run__(private_data_dir):
     buff = cStringIO.StringIO()
     with open(os.path.join(private_data_dir, 'env'), 'r') as f:
         for line in f:
             buff.write(line)
 
     artifacts_dir = os.path.join(private_data_dir, 'artifacts')
-    job_events_dir = os.path.join(artifacts_dir, 'job_events')
-    if not os.path.exists(job_events_dir):
-        os.makedirs(job_events_dir, mode=stat.S_IRUSR | stat.S_IWUSR)
 
     # Standard out directed to pickup location without event filtering applied
     stdout_filename = os.path.join(artifacts_dir, 'stdout')
@@ -258,3 +253,49 @@ if __name__ == '__main__':
         os.mknod(artifact_path, stat.S_IFREG | stat.S_IRUSR | stat.S_IWUSR)
         with open(artifact_path, 'w') as f:
             f.write(str(data))
+
+
+if __name__ == '__main__':
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description='manage a daemonized, isolated ansible playbook')
+    parser.add_argument('command', choices=['start', 'stop', 'is-alive'])
+    parser.add_argument('job_id')
+    args = parser.parse_args()
+    private_data_dir = os.readlink('/tmp/ansible_tower/jobs/%s' % args.job_id)
+    pidfile = os.path.join(private_data_dir, 'pid')
+
+    if args.command == 'start':
+        # create a file to log stderr in case the daemonized process throws
+        # an exception before it gets to `pexpect.spawn`
+        stderr_path = os.path.join(private_data_dir, 'artifacts', 'daemon.log')
+        if not os.path.exists(stderr_path):
+            os.mknod(stderr_path, stat.S_IFREG | stat.S_IRUSR | stat.S_IWUSR)
+        stderr = open(stderr_path, 'w+')
+
+        import daemon
+        from daemon.pidfile import TimeoutPIDLockFile
+        context = daemon.DaemonContext(
+            pidfile=TimeoutPIDLockFile(pidfile),
+            stderr=stderr
+        )
+        with context:
+            __run__(private_data_dir)
+        sys.exit(0)
+
+    try:
+        with open(pidfile, 'r') as f:
+            pid = int(f.readline())
+    except IOError:
+        sys.exit(1)
+
+    if args.command == 'stop':
+        try:
+            with open(os.path.join(private_data_dir, 'args'), 'r') as args:
+                handle_termination(pid, json.load(args), 'bwrap')
+        except IOError:
+            handle_termination(pid, [], 'bwrap')
+    elif args.command == 'is-alive':
+        try:
+            os.kill(pid, signal.SIG_DFL)
+            sys.exit(0)
+        except OSError:
+            sys.exit(1)
diff --git a/awx/main/tests/unit/test_tasks.py b/awx/main/tests/unit/test_tasks.py
index d576f661ce..d76802b308 100644
--- a/awx/main/tests/unit/test_tasks.py
+++ b/awx/main/tests/unit/test_tasks.py
@@ -371,7 +371,7 @@ class TestIsolatedExecution(TestJobExecution):
                 os.makedirs(artifacts)
             if 'run_isolated.yml' in args[0]:
                 for filename, data in (
-                    ['systemctl_logs', 'ERROR IN EXPECT.PY'],
+                    ['daemon.log', 'ERROR IN RUN.PY'],
                 ):
                     with open(os.path.join(artifacts, filename), 'w') as f:
                         f.write(data)
diff --git a/awx/playbooks/check_isolated.yml b/awx/playbooks/check_isolated.yml
index f928da3572..97a3f6499d 100644
--- a/awx/playbooks/check_isolated.yml
+++ b/awx/playbooks/check_isolated.yml
@@ -16,13 +16,6 @@
         mode: pull
         recursive: yes
 
-    - name: check to see if the job is inactive
-      command: "systemctl is-active playbook@{{job_id}}.service"
-      register: is_active
-      failed_when: "is_active.rc == 0"
-
-    - shell: journalctl -u playbook@{{job_id}}.service --no-pager
-      register: systemctl_logs
-      ignore_errors: True
-
-    - local_action: copy content={{ systemctl_logs.stdout }} dest={{src}}/artifacts/systemctl_logs mode=0600
+    - shell: "tower-expect is-alive {{job_id}}"
+      register: is_alive
+      failed_when: "is_alive.rc == 0"
diff --git a/awx/playbooks/clean_isolated.yml b/awx/playbooks/clean_isolated.yml
index d0df3775f3..4ca68f2eb5 100644
--- a/awx/playbooks/clean_isolated.yml
+++ b/awx/playbooks/clean_isolated.yml
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
   tasks:
 
     - name: cancel the job
-      command: "systemctl stop playbook@{{job_id}}.service"
+      command: "tower-expect stop {{job_id}}"
       ignore_errors: yes
 
     - name: remove build artifacts
diff --git a/awx/playbooks/run_isolated.yml b/awx/playbooks/run_isolated.yml
index 5928edbc31..f06930737d 100644
--- a/awx/playbooks/run_isolated.yml
+++ b/awx/playbooks/run_isolated.yml
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
       command: "mkfifo /tmp/ansible_tower/jobs/{{job_id}}/env"
 
     - name: spawn the playbook
-      command: "systemctl start playbook@{{job_id}}.service"
+      command: "tower-expect start {{job_id}}"
 
     - name: write the secret environment data
       mkfifo:
diff --git a/requirements/requirements_isolated.txt b/requirements/requirements_isolated.txt
index 13209d2fd8..7d538cdd0f 100644
--- a/requirements/requirements_isolated.txt
+++ b/requirements/requirements_isolated.txt
@@ -1,2 +1,3 @@
 psutil==5.2.2
-pexpect==4.2.1
\ No newline at end of file
+pexpect==4.2.1
+python-daemon==2.1.2
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index bd7d5bd19e..dfedd8ce87 100755
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import datetime
 import glob
 import sys
 from setuptools import setup
+from distutils.command.sdist import sdist
 
 from awx import __version__
 
@@ -38,6 +39,30 @@ else:
     # The .spec will create symlinks to support multiple versions of sosreport
     sosconfig = "/usr/share/sosreport/sos/plugins"
 
+#####################################################################
+# Isolated packaging
+#####################################################################
+
+
+class sdist_isolated(sdist):
+    includes = [
+        'include awx/__init__.py',
+        'include awx/main/isolated/run.py',
+        'recursive-include awx/lib *.py',
+    ]
+
+    def get_file_list(self):
+        self.filelist.process_template_line('include setup.py')
+        for line in self.includes:
+            self.filelist.process_template_line(line)
+        self.write_manifest()
+
+    def make_release_tree(self, base_dir, files):
+        sdist.make_release_tree(self, base_dir, files)
+        with open(os.path.join(base_dir, 'MANIFEST.in'), 'w') as f:
+            f.write('\n'.join(self.includes))
+
+
 #####################################################################
 # Helper Functions
 
@@ -112,7 +137,7 @@ setup(
     entry_points = {
         'console_scripts': [
             'awx-manage = awx:manage',
-            'tower-manage = awx:manage',
+            'tower-manage = awx:manage'
         ],
     },
     data_files = proc_data_files([
@@ -129,6 +154,7 @@ setup(
                          "tools/scripts/tower-python",
                          "tools/scripts/ansible-tower-setup"]),
         ("%s" % sosconfig, ["tools/sosreport/tower.py"])]),
+    cmdclass = {'sdist_isolated': sdist_isolated},
     options = {
         'egg_info': {
             'tag_build': build_timestamp,
@@ -136,6 +162,7 @@ setup(
         'aliases': {
             'dev_build': 'clean --all egg_info sdist',
             'release_build': 'clean --all egg_info -b "" sdist',
+            'isolated_build': 'clean --all egg_info -b "" sdist_isolated',
         },
         'build_scripts': {
             'executable': '/usr/bin/tower-python',
diff --git a/tools/docker-isolated/Dockerfile b/tools/docker-isolated/Dockerfile
index f130bb4e3e..b9ab6ea047 100644
--- a/tools/docker-isolated/Dockerfile
+++ b/tools/docker-isolated/Dockerfile
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ ENV LANGUAGE en_US:en
 ENV LC_ALL en_US.UTF-8
 WORKDIR /
 EXPOSE 22
-ADD tools/docker-isolated/playbook@.service /lib/systemd/system/playbook@.service
+ADD tools/docker-isolated/tower-expect /usr/local/bin/tower-expect
 
 RUN rm -f /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ecdsa_key /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key
 RUN ssh-keygen -q -N "" -t dsa -f /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ecdsa_key
diff --git a/tools/docker-isolated/README.md b/tools/docker-isolated/README.md
index af5f47a437..14a59e165a 100644
--- a/tools/docker-isolated/README.md
+++ b/tools/docker-isolated/README.md
@@ -66,6 +66,6 @@ This should give a shell to the `tools_isolated_1` container, as the
 The following command would run the playbook for job 57.
 
 ```bash
-systemctl start playbook@57.service
+tower-expect start 57
 ```
 
diff --git a/tools/docker-isolated/playbook@.service b/tools/docker-isolated/playbook@.service
deleted file mode 100644
index fa84635c8c..0000000000
--- a/tools/docker-isolated/playbook@.service
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,7 +0,0 @@
-[Unit]
-Description=Run of Ansible Tower job %I
-
-[Service]
-ExecStart=/venv/tower_isolated/bin/python /tower_isolated/run.py %I
-Restart=no
-Environment=TOWER_LIB_DIRECTORY=/tower_lib
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tools/docker-isolated/tower-expect b/tools/docker-isolated/tower-expect
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..5ad90b9d98
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/docker-isolated/tower-expect
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+. /venv/tower_isolated/bin/activate
+exec env TOWER_LIB_DIRECTORY=/tower_lib /tower_isolated/run.py "$@"