diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index 5a81b53728ffceaa36b3989d053d48eb2630843b..e02c617deea047e586aee51f2682703671194876 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -12,8 +12,10 @@ makepkg:
     - echo 'SigLevel = Required TrustedOnly' >> /etc/pacman.conf
     - pacman --sync --refresh --sysupgrade --noconfirm
     - pacman --sync --noconfirm base-devel devtools
-    - useradd --home-dir /root --groups root,wheel --shell /bin/bash build
+    - useradd --create-home --shell /bin/bash build
     - "echo 'build ALL = NOPASSWD: /usr/bin/pacman' > /etc/sudoers.d/build"
+    - "[ -n \"$PACKAGER\" ] && echo \"PACKAGER='$PACKAGER'\" > /home/build/.makepkg.conf"
+    - echo "MAKEFLAGS='-j$(nproc)'" >> /home/build/.makepkg.conf
   script:
     - ulimit -c 0
     - sudo -u build -- makepkg --syncdeps --noconfirm