diff --git a/.github/workflows/deploy-dev.yml b/.github/workflows/deploy-dev.yml
index 1d18f40..cb2b893 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/deploy-dev.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/deploy-dev.yml
@@ -33,3 +33,18 @@ jobs:
             -e "entra_client_secret=${{ secrets.ENTRA_CLIENT_SECRET }}" \
             -e "entra_admin_emails=${{ secrets.ENTRA_ADMIN_EMAILS }}" \
             infra/development/site/deploy-playbook.yml
+
+      # TEMP DIAGNOSTIC — investigating a 502 from pocketbase-learning on this
+      # environment. Remove this step once resolved.
+      - name: TEMP DIAGNOSTIC - pocketbase-learning status and logs
+        if: always()
+        run: |
+          ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -i ~/.ssh/deploy_key -p 4484 root@46.224.220.37 "
+            cd /opt/learning-platform &&
+            echo '--- docker compose ps ---' &&
+            docker compose ps &&
+            echo '--- pocketbase-learning logs (last 200 lines) ---' &&
+            docker compose logs --tail=200 pocketbase-learning &&
+            echo '--- learning-platform (caddy) logs (last 50 lines) ---' &&
+            docker compose logs --tail=50 learning-platform
+          "
diff --git a/pb_hooks/team_members.pb.js b/pb_hooks/team_members.pb.js
index 4551ddf..48fc958 100644
--- a/pb_hooks/team_members.pb.js
+++ b/pb_hooks/team_members.pb.js
@@ -17,15 +17,15 @@
 //
 // Keep this logic in sync with src/lib/azureAuth.js (resolveRole / parseAdminEmails),
 // which carries the canonical, unit-tested version for the frontend/tests.
-
-function resolveRole(email) {
-  const raw = ($os.getenv("ENTRA_ADMIN_EMAILS") || "").toLowerCase();
-  const allow = raw.split(",").map(function (s) { return s.trim(); }).filter(Boolean);
-  return allow.indexOf((email || "").toLowerCase()) !== -1 ? "admin" : "user";
-}
+//
+// resolveRole itself lives in pb_hooks/utils.js and is pulled in per-callback
+// via require() — PocketBase's JSVM runs each hook callback below as its own
+// isolated program, so a shared top-level function here would not be in
+// scope at call time. See pb_hooks/utils.js for details.
 
 // On creation (first login): set defaults before the record is persisted.
 onRecordCreate(function (e) {
+  const { resolveRole } = require(`${__hooks}/utils.js`);
   const email = e.record.get("email") || "";
 
   e.record.set("role", resolveRole(email));
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ onRecordCreate(function (e) {
 // On every successful auth (incl. OIDC): keep the admin role in sync with the
 // allow-list, so promoting/demoting an admin only requires an env change.
 onRecordAuthRequest(function (e) {
+  const { resolveRole } = require(`${__hooks}/utils.js`);
   const email = e.record.get("email") || "";
   const want = resolveRole(email);
   if (e.record.get("role") !== want) {
diff --git a/pb_hooks/utils.js b/pb_hooks/utils.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f3cba39
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pb_hooks/utils.js
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+/// <reference path="../pb_data/types.d.ts" />
+//
+// Shared helpers for pb_hooks/*.pb.js callbacks.
+//
+// PocketBase's JSVM serializes and runs each registered hook callback as its
+// own isolated program, so a plain top-level function declared in a *.pb.js
+// file is NOT in scope inside a callback at call time. Reusable helpers must
+// instead live in a plain (non *.pb.js, so it isn't auto-loaded as a hook)
+// module and be pulled in per-callback via require(`${__hooks}/utils.js`).
+// See: https://github.com/pocketbase/pocketbase/discussions/3599
+//
+// Loaded modules use a shared registry across callback invocations, so keep
+// this file stateless.
+//
+// Keep resolveRole in sync with src/lib/azureAuth.js's resolveRole (the
+// canonical, unit-tested version used by the frontend).
+
+module.exports = {
+  /**
+   * Resolve a user's role from their e-mail and the ENTRA_ADMIN_EMAILS allow-list.
+   * @param {string} email
+   * @returns {"admin"|"user"}
+   */
+  resolveRole: function (email) {
+    const raw = ($os.getenv("ENTRA_ADMIN_EMAILS") || "").toLowerCase();
+    const allow = raw.split(",").map(function (s) { return s.trim(); }).filter(Boolean);
+    return allow.indexOf(String(email || "").toLowerCase()) !== -1 ? "admin" : "user";
+  },
+};