diff --git a/samza-core/src/main/java/org/apache/samza/task/DefaultTaskExecutorFactory.java b/samza-core/src/main/java/org/apache/samza/task/DefaultTaskExecutorFactory.java
index 5ed5165c1d..5ea0fb3170 100644
--- a/samza-core/src/main/java/org/apache/samza/task/DefaultTaskExecutorFactory.java
+++ b/samza-core/src/main/java/org/apache/samza/task/DefaultTaskExecutorFactory.java
@@ -68,7 +68,9 @@ public ExecutorService getOperatorExecutor(TaskName taskName, Config config) {
       } else {
         LOG.info("Using single threaded thread pool as operator thread pool for task {}", key.getTaskName());
         operatorExecutor = Executors.newSingleThreadExecutor(
-            new ThreadFactoryBuilder().setNameFormat("Samza " + key.getTaskName() + " Thread-%d").build());
+            new ThreadFactoryBuilder().setNameFormat("Samza " + key.getTaskName() + " Thread-%d")
+                .setDaemon(true)
+                .build());
       }
 
       return operatorExecutor;