diff --git a/modules/nix/linux-builder.nix b/modules/nix/linux-builder.nix
index 2bcb62ea..ae39547f 100644
--- a/modules/nix/linux-builder.nix
+++ b/modules/nix/linux-builder.nix
@@ -61,9 +61,16 @@ in
 
     maxJobs = mkOption {
       type = types.ints.positive;
-      default = 1;
-      example = 4;
+      default = cfg.package.nixosConfig.virtualisation.cores;
+      defaultText = ''
+        The `virtualisation.cores` of the build machine's final NixOS configuration.
+      '';
+      example = 2;
       description = ''
+        Instead of setting this directly, you should set
+        {option}`nix.linux-builder.config.virtualisation.cores` to configure
+        the amount of cores the Linux builder should have.
+
         The number of concurrent jobs the Linux builder machine supports. The
         build machine will enforce its own limits, but this allows hydra
         to schedule better since there is no work-stealing between build