diff --git a/.kokoro/build.sh b/.kokoro/build.sh
index 92e714cb451e..ce71c45ec14d 100755
--- a/.kokoro/build.sh
+++ b/.kokoro/build.sh
@@ -43,21 +43,25 @@ case ${JOB_TYPE} in
       install_modules "${BUILD_SUBDIR}"
       echo "Running in subdir: ${BUILD_SUBDIR}"
       pushd "${BUILD_SUBDIR}"
-      EXTRA_PROFILE_OPTS=()
     else
-      EXTRA_PROFILE_OPTS=("-PbulkTests")
-      install_modules "sdk-platform-java"
+      # -DskipUnitTests=true is where the real time savings come from: it skips both
+      # compiling and running tests for most client-library modules. A few "core" modules
+      # (google-auth-library-java, grpc-gcp-java, sdk-platform-java) don't honor it though,
+      # so we also pass plain -DskipTests=true to stop their tests from running. We
+      # deliberately leave their test *compilation* alone, since other modules in the
+      # reactor need testlib artifacts (like gax-grpc's) that only that compile step
+      # produces.
+      EXTRA_MAVEN_OPTS="${EXTRA_MAVEN_OPTS} -DskipUnitTests=true -DskipTests=true"
     fi
-    echo "SUREFIRE_JVM_OPT: ${SUREFIRE_JVM_OPT}"
+    echo "EXTRA_MAVEN_OPTS: ${EXTRA_MAVEN_OPTS}"
     retry_with_backoff 3 10 \
-      mvn install \
+      mvn test \
         -B -ntp \
         -Pquick-build \
         -Dorg.slf4j.simpleLogger.showDateTime=true \
         -Dorg.slf4j.simpleLogger.dateTimeFormat=HH:mm:ss:SSS \
         -Dmaven.wagon.http.retryHandler.count=5 \
-        --also-make \
-        ${SUREFIRE_JVM_OPT} "${EXTRA_PROFILE_OPTS[@]}"
+        ${EXTRA_MAVEN_OPTS}
     RETURN_CODE=$?
 
     if [[ -n "${BUILD_SUBDIR}" ]]
@@ -316,7 +320,6 @@ case ${JOB_TYPE} in
       install_modules "${BUILD_SUBDIR}"
       echo "Running in subdir: ${BUILD_SUBDIR}"
       pushd "${BUILD_SUBDIR}"
-      EXTRA_PROFILE_OPTS=()
     else
       install_modules "sdk-platform-java"
     fi
@@ -349,4 +352,4 @@ if [[ "${ENABLE_FLAKYBOT}" == "true" ]]; then
 fi
 
 echo "exiting with ${RETURN_CODE}"
-exit ${RETURN_CODE}
\ No newline at end of file
+exit ${RETURN_CODE}
diff --git a/.kokoro/common.sh b/.kokoro/common.sh
index a1dad45d963d..f46079609810 100644
--- a/.kokoro/common.sh
+++ b/.kokoro/common.sh
@@ -311,6 +311,14 @@ function run_integration_tests() {
   parse_all_submodules "$1"
   printf "Running integration tests for submodules:\n%s\n" "$all_submodules"
 
+  # This job needs integration tests to actually run, so plain -DskipTests=true is off the
+  # table here (it would skip those too). We only want unit tests skipped, hence two
+  # narrower flags instead: -DskipUnitTests=true for client-library modules (see
+  # google-cloud-jar-parent/pom.xml for how that's wired), and -PbulkTests for the handful
+  # of modules (google-auth-library-java, java-cloud-bom, java-shared-config,
+  # sdk-platform-java) that predate and sit outside that mechanism. We just pass both
+  # always rather than figure out per-module which one applies; Maven ignores whichever one
+  # a given module doesn't recognize.
   mvn verify -Penable-integration-tests -Pquick-build --projects "$all_submodules" \
     ${INTEGRATION_TEST_ARGS} \
     -B -ntp -fae \
diff --git a/google-cloud-jar-parent/pom.xml b/google-cloud-jar-parent/pom.xml
index e824958cf545..b5402a7b30b8 100644
--- a/google-cloud-jar-parent/pom.xml
+++ b/google-cloud-jar-parent/pom.xml
@@ -19,7 +19,30 @@
     <relativePath>../google-cloud-pom-parent/pom.xml</relativePath>
   </parent>
   <properties>
-    <skipUnitTests>false</skipUnitTests>
+    <!--
+      Defaults to true because most modules under this parent are pure GAPIC-generated
+      clients, and their generated tests aren't worth the CI time they cost. Libraries with
+      handwritten tests worth running, like java-spanner, java-bigtable, or java-storage,
+      override this back to false in their own top-level pom.xml. Forget that override, and
+      the tests just quietly stop running.
+
+      java-common-protos, java-iam, and java-showcase don't extend this parent at all, so
+      their skipUnitTests only stops test execution, not compilation. That's an artifact of
+      the repo having two separate parent-POM hierarchies for the same idea, not a
+      deliberate design choice, so it should go away if those hierarchies are ever merged.
+
+      google-auth-library-java, java-cloud-bom, java-shared-config, and sdk-platform-java
+      are unrelated to all of this: they don't extend either hierarchy and skip tests via
+      their own "bulkTests" profile instead (see .kokoro/common.sh).
+    -->
+    <skipUnitTests>true</skipUnitTests>
+    <!--
+      We map maven.test.skip to skipUnitTests by default to skip both compilation
+      and execution of tests for libraries that skip unit tests (like GAPICs).
+      For integration test jobs that need compilation but skip unit tests,
+      pass -Dmaven.test.skip=false -DskipUnitTests=true.
+    -->
+    <maven.test.skip>${skipUnitTests}</maven.test.skip>
     <ignoreNonCompile>true</ignoreNonCompile><!-- maven-dependency-plugin:analyze to skip test scope dependencies -->
   </properties>
 
diff --git a/java-bigquery-jdbc/pom.xml b/java-bigquery-jdbc/pom.xml
index ba78d2094996..1dde1397f5fc 100644
--- a/java-bigquery-jdbc/pom.xml
+++ b/java-bigquery-jdbc/pom.xml
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@
     <github.global.server>github</github.global.server>
     <site.installationModule>google-cloud-bigquery-jdbc</site.installationModule>
     <skipShade>false</skipShade>
+    <skipUnitTests>false</skipUnitTests>
   </properties>
 
   <build>
@@ -412,14 +413,6 @@
       </build>
     </profile>
 
-    <!-- skip tests if bulkTests profile is enabled (when testing the rest of the monorepo) -->
-    <profile>
-      <id>bulkTests</id>
-      <properties>
-        <skipTests>true</skipTests>
-      </properties>
-    </profile>
-
     <!-- Profile used inside docker -->
     <profile>
       <id>docker</id>
diff --git a/java-bigquery/pom.xml b/java-bigquery/pom.xml
index c96383dedfac..9de42ad51ef9 100644
--- a/java-bigquery/pom.xml
+++ b/java-bigquery/pom.xml
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@
     <github.global.server>github</github.global.server>
     <site.installationModule>google-cloud-bigquery-parent</site.installationModule>
     <google-api-services-bigquery.version>v2-rev20251012-2.0.0</google-api-services-bigquery.version>
+    <skipUnitTests>false</skipUnitTests>
   </properties>
 
   <dependencyManagement>
@@ -162,12 +163,5 @@
         <module>benchmark</module>
       </modules>
     </profile>
-    <!-- skip tests if bulkTests profile is enabled (when testing the rest of the monorepo) -->
-    <profile>
-      <id>bulkTests</id>
-      <properties>
-        <skipTests>true</skipTests>
-      </properties>
-    </profile>
   </profiles>
 </project>
diff --git a/java-bigquerystorage/pom.xml b/java-bigquerystorage/pom.xml
index dabcddd765bd..88655956bb3b 100644
--- a/java-bigquerystorage/pom.xml
+++ b/java-bigquerystorage/pom.xml
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@
     <project.protobuf-java.version>3.25.4</project.protobuf-java.version>
     <github.global.server>github</github.global.server>
     <site.installationModule>google-cloud-bigquerystorage-parent</site.installationModule>
+    <skipUnitTests>false</skipUnitTests>
   </properties>
 
   <pluginRepositories>
@@ -207,14 +208,4 @@
     <module>google-cloud-bigquerystorage-bom</module>
   </modules>
 
-  <profiles>
-    <!-- skip tests if bulkTests profile is enabled (when testing the rest of the monorepo) -->
-    <profile>
-      <id>bulkTests</id>
-      <properties>
-        <skipTests>true</skipTests>
-      </properties>
-    </profile>
-  </profiles>
-
 </project>
diff --git a/java-bigtable/pom.xml b/java-bigtable/pom.xml
index bc0bb829a4ef..578bd470c60c 100644
--- a/java-bigtable/pom.xml
+++ b/java-bigtable/pom.xml
@@ -146,6 +146,7 @@
         <project.javadoc.protobufBaseURL>https://googleapis.dev/java/google-api-grpc/latest</project.javadoc.protobufBaseURL>
         <errorprone.version>2.48.0</errorprone.version>
         <errorprone.javac.args>-g</errorprone.javac.args>
+        <skipUnitTests>false</skipUnitTests>
     </properties>
 
     <dependencyManagement>
@@ -342,12 +343,6 @@
                 </plugins>
             </build>
         </profile>
-    <profile>
-      <id>bulkTests</id>
-      <properties>
-        <skipTests>true</skipTests>
-      </properties>
-    </profile>
     <profile>
       <id>errorprone-jdk8</id>
       <activation>
diff --git a/java-common-protos/pom.xml b/java-common-protos/pom.xml
index 824768000f43..269d67d8c3bf 100644
--- a/java-common-protos/pom.xml
+++ b/java-common-protos/pom.xml
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@
     <project.reporting.outputEncoding>UTF-8</project.reporting.outputEncoding>
     <github.global.server>github</github.global.server>
     <site.installationModule>google-iam-parent</site.installationModule>
+    <skipUnitTests>false</skipUnitTests>
   </properties>
 
   <dependencyManagement>
diff --git a/java-datastore/pom.xml b/java-datastore/pom.xml
index 0f179079830b..6b2a30139b96 100644
--- a/java-datastore/pom.xml
+++ b/java-datastore/pom.xml
@@ -146,6 +146,7 @@
     <project.javadoc.protobufBaseURL>https://googleapis.dev/java/google-api-grpc/latest</project.javadoc.protobufBaseURL>
     <errorprone.version>2.48.0</errorprone.version>
     <errorprone.javac.args>-g</errorprone.javac.args>
+    <skipUnitTests>false</skipUnitTests>
   </properties>
 
   <dependencyManagement>
@@ -236,13 +237,6 @@
   </modules>
 
   <profiles>
-    <!-- skip tests if bulkTests profile is enabled (when testing the rest of the monorepo) -->
-    <profile>
-      <id>bulkTests</id>
-      <properties>
-        <skipTests>true</skipTests>
-      </properties>
-    </profile>
     <profile>
       <id>errorprone-jdk8</id>
       <activation>
diff --git a/java-dns/pom.xml b/java-dns/pom.xml
index daee4d1487d2..abbb9d8637a9 100644
--- a/java-dns/pom.xml
+++ b/java-dns/pom.xml
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@
     <project.reporting.outputEncoding>UTF-8</project.reporting.outputEncoding>
     <github.global.server>github</github.global.server>
     <site.installationModule>google-cloud-dns-parent</site.installationModule>
+    <skipUnitTests>false</skipUnitTests>
   </properties>
 
   <dependencyManagement>
diff --git a/java-firestore/google-cloud-firestore-admin/pom.xml b/java-firestore/google-cloud-firestore-admin/pom.xml
index 44ececc238f2..6f04310bdee8 100644
--- a/java-firestore/google-cloud-firestore-admin/pom.xml
+++ b/java-firestore/google-cloud-firestore-admin/pom.xml
@@ -15,6 +15,9 @@
     <artifactId>google-cloud-firestore-parent</artifactId>
     <version>3.45.0-SNAPSHOT</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-firestore:current} -->
   </parent>
+  <properties>
+    <skipUnitTests>true</skipUnitTests>
+  </properties>
   <dependencies>
     <dependency>
       <groupId>com.google.api.grpc</groupId>
diff --git a/java-firestore/pom.xml b/java-firestore/pom.xml
index 5d45821383a8..56e7affe0a27 100644
--- a/java-firestore/pom.xml
+++ b/java-firestore/pom.xml
@@ -144,6 +144,7 @@
     <github.global.server>github</github.global.server>
     <site.installationModule>google-cloud-firestore-parent</site.installationModule>
     <project.javadoc.protobufBaseURL>https://googleapis.dev/java/google-api-grpc/latest</project.javadoc.protobufBaseURL>
+    <skipUnitTests>false</skipUnitTests>
   </properties>
 
   <dependencyManagement>
@@ -247,11 +248,5 @@
         </plugins>
       </build>
     </profile>
-    <profile>
-      <id>bulkTests</id>
-      <properties>
-        <skipTests>true</skipTests>
-      </properties>
-    </profile>
   </profiles>
 </project>
diff --git a/java-iam/pom.xml b/java-iam/pom.xml
index 78b8f9f6fb05..4ae700e81a2b 100644
--- a/java-iam/pom.xml
+++ b/java-iam/pom.xml
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@
     <project.reporting.outputEncoding>UTF-8</project.reporting.outputEncoding>
     <github.global.server>github</github.global.server>
     <site.installationModule>google-iam-parent</site.installationModule>
+    <skipUnitTests>false</skipUnitTests>
   </properties>
 
   <dependencyManagement>
diff --git a/java-logging-logback/pom.xml b/java-logging-logback/pom.xml
index 1e36cdf89973..1a9c9e057d26 100644
--- a/java-logging-logback/pom.xml
+++ b/java-logging-logback/pom.xml
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
     <logging.version>3.25.0</logging.version>
     <slf4j.version>1.7.36</slf4j.version>
     <google.api-common.version>1.10.1</google.api-common.version>
+    <skipUnitTests>false</skipUnitTests>
   </properties>
 
   <parent>
@@ -170,12 +171,5 @@
         <test>!LoggingAppenderTest</test>
       </properties>
     </profile>
-    <!-- skip tests if bulkTests profile is enabled (when testing the rest of the monorepo) -->
-    <profile>
-      <id>bulkTests</id>
-      <properties>
-        <skipTests>true</skipTests>
-      </properties>
-    </profile>
   </profiles>
 </project>
diff --git a/java-logging/pom.xml b/java-logging/pom.xml
index 3fec5ba8f610..507c8f25e42d 100644
--- a/java-logging/pom.xml
+++ b/java-logging/pom.xml
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@
     <project.reporting.outputEncoding>UTF-8</project.reporting.outputEncoding>
     <github.global.server>github</github.global.server>
     <site.installationModule>google-cloud-logging-parent</site.installationModule>
+    <skipUnitTests>false</skipUnitTests>
   </properties>
 
   <dependencyManagement>
@@ -105,14 +106,4 @@
     <!-- {x-generated-modules-end} -->
     <module>google-cloud-logging-bom</module>
   </modules>
-
-  <profiles>
-    <!-- skip tests if bulkTests profile is enabled (when testing the rest of the monorepo) -->
-    <profile>
-      <id>bulkTests</id>
-      <properties>
-        <skipTests>true</skipTests>
-      </properties>
-    </profile>
-  </profiles>
 </project>
diff --git a/java-notification/pom.xml b/java-notification/pom.xml
index 3a548181a121..d021751302c7 100644
--- a/java-notification/pom.xml
+++ b/java-notification/pom.xml
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
   </parent>
   <properties>
     <site.installationModule>google-cloud-notification</site.installationModule>
+    <skipUnitTests>false</skipUnitTests>
   </properties>
   <dependencyManagement>
     <dependencies>
diff --git a/java-pubsub/pom.xml b/java-pubsub/pom.xml
index b7d9e4e84bf5..87e13482d504 100644
--- a/java-pubsub/pom.xml
+++ b/java-pubsub/pom.xml
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@
     <project.reporting.outputEncoding>UTF-8</project.reporting.outputEncoding>
     <github.global.server>github</github.global.server>
     <site.installationModule>google-cloud-pubsub-parent</site.installationModule>
+    <skipUnitTests>false</skipUnitTests>
   </properties>
 
   <dependencyManagement>
@@ -143,13 +144,4 @@
     <!-- {x-generated-modules-end} -->
     <module>google-cloud-pubsub-bom</module>
   </modules>
-
-  <profiles>
-    <profile>
-      <id>bulkTests</id>
-      <properties>
-        <skipTests>true</skipTests>
-      </properties>
-    </profile>
-  </profiles>
 </project>
diff --git a/java-showcase/pom.xml b/java-showcase/pom.xml
index c90fb72c78fb..5cd52fb97aee 100644
--- a/java-showcase/pom.xml
+++ b/java-showcase/pom.xml
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@
     <maven.deploy.skip>true</maven.deploy.skip>
     <skipNexusStagingDeployMojo>true</skipNexusStagingDeployMojo>
     <mdep.analyze.skip>true</mdep.analyze.skip><!-- The showcase modules are not meant for library customers. -->
+    <skipUnitTests>false</skipUnitTests>
   </properties>
 
   <dependencyManagement>
@@ -259,12 +260,5 @@
         </plugins>
       </build>
     </profile>
-    <!-- skip tests if bulkTests profile is enabled (when testing the rest of the monorepo) -->
-    <profile>
-      <id>bulkTests</id>
-      <properties>
-        <skipTests>true</skipTests>
-      </properties>
-    </profile>
   </profiles>
 </project>
diff --git a/java-spanner-jdbc/pom.xml b/java-spanner-jdbc/pom.xml
index 15e481b89c61..bdb3001a028f 100644
--- a/java-spanner-jdbc/pom.xml
+++ b/java-spanner-jdbc/pom.xml
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@
     <truth.version>1.4.5</truth.version>
     <mockito.version>4.11.0</mockito.version>
     <opencensus.version>0.31.1</opencensus.version>
+    <skipUnitTests>false</skipUnitTests>
   </properties>
 
   <dependencyManagement>
@@ -345,7 +346,7 @@
                 <argument>${project.basedir}/documentation/connection_properties.md</argument>
               </arguments>
               <classpathScope>test</classpathScope>
-              <skip>false</skip>
+              <skip>${maven.test.skip}</skip>
             </configuration>          </execution>
         </executions>
       </plugin>
diff --git a/java-spanner/pom.xml b/java-spanner/pom.xml
index 871688a20e5b..3060f3b002b6 100644
--- a/java-spanner/pom.xml
+++ b/java-spanner/pom.xml
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@
     <project.reporting.outputEncoding>UTF-8</project.reporting.outputEncoding>
     <github.global.server>github</github.global.server>
     <site.installationModule>google-cloud-spanner-parent</site.installationModule>
+    <skipUnitTests>false</skipUnitTests>
   </properties>
 
   <dependencyManagement>
@@ -158,14 +159,4 @@
     </plugins>
   </build>
 
-  <profiles>
-    <!-- skip tests if bulkTests profile is enabled (when testing the rest of the monorepo) -->
-    <profile>
-      <id>bulkTests</id>
-      <properties>
-        <skipTests>true</skipTests>
-      </properties>
-    </profile>
-  </profiles>
-
 </project>
diff --git a/java-storage-nio/pom.xml b/java-storage-nio/pom.xml
index 90ad0b962a0b..1f01bf612357 100644
--- a/java-storage-nio/pom.xml
+++ b/java-storage-nio/pom.xml
@@ -64,6 +64,7 @@
     <project.reporting.outputEncoding>UTF-8</project.reporting.outputEncoding>
     <github.global.server>github</github.global.server>
     <site.installationModule>google-cloud-storage-nio-parent</site.installationModule>
+    <skipUnitTests>false</skipUnitTests>
   </properties>
 
   <dependencyManagement>
diff --git a/java-storage/gapic-google-cloud-storage-v2/pom.xml b/java-storage/gapic-google-cloud-storage-v2/pom.xml
index 0c50aeeaa9e9..bef6755705bd 100644
--- a/java-storage/gapic-google-cloud-storage-v2/pom.xml
+++ b/java-storage/gapic-google-cloud-storage-v2/pom.xml
@@ -12,6 +12,9 @@
     <artifactId>google-cloud-storage-parent</artifactId>
     <version>2.71.0-SNAPSHOT</version><!-- {x-version-update:google-cloud-storage:current} -->
   </parent>
+  <properties>
+    <skipUnitTests>true</skipUnitTests>
+  </properties>
   <dependencies>
     <dependency>
       <groupId>io.grpc</groupId>
diff --git a/java-storage/pom.xml b/java-storage/pom.xml
index 28c08b83144d..074c0156b80f 100644
--- a/java-storage/pom.xml
+++ b/java-storage/pom.xml
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@
     <github.global.server>github</github.global.server>
     <site.installationModule>google-cloud-storage-parent</site.installationModule>
     <google.cloud.shared-dependencies.version>3.31.0</google.cloud.shared-dependencies.version>
+    <skipUnitTests>false</skipUnitTests>
   </properties>
 
   <dependencyManagement>
@@ -187,12 +188,6 @@
         <module>storage-shared-benchmarking</module>
       </modules>
     </profile>
-    <profile>
-      <id>bulkTests</id>
-      <properties>
-        <skipTests>true</skipTests>
-      </properties>
-    </profile>
     <profile>
       <!--
         Logback 1.5.x requires Java 11+. To support running tests on Java 8,