diff --git a/src/spark_researcher/config.py b/src/spark_researcher/config.py
index 4fd8a4cc..2c1d0924 100644
--- a/src/spark_researcher/config.py
+++ b/src/spark_researcher/config.py
@@ -297,7 +297,10 @@ def update_intent_policy(
 
 
 def load_config(path: Path) -> ProjectConfig:
-    payload = json.loads(path.read_text(encoding="utf-8-sig"))
+    try:
+        payload = json.loads(path.read_text(encoding="utf-8-sig")
+    except (json.JSONDecodeError, OSError) as exc:
+        raise RuntimeError(f"Failed to parse JSON: {exc}") from exc)
     commands = {
         name: CommandSpec(
             args=list(spec["args"]),