diff --git a/internal/workflow/signals.go b/internal/workflow/signals.go
index 4e34aff2..186a1411 100644
--- a/internal/workflow/signals.go
+++ b/internal/workflow/signals.go
@@ -5,13 +5,16 @@ package workflow
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"log/slog"
 	"os"
 	"os/exec"
 	"os/signal"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"strconv"
 	"strings"
+	"sync"
 	"syscall"
 	"time"
 
@@ -57,74 +60,87 @@ func configureSignalHandler(myTargets []target.Target, statusFunc progress.Multi
 	sigChannel := make(chan os.Signal, 1)
 	signal.Notify(sigChannel, syscall.SIGINT, syscall.SIGTERM)
 	go func() {
+		// wait for a signal
 		sig := <-sigChannel
 		slog.Debug("received signal", slog.String("signal", sig.String()))
 		// The controller script is run in its own process group, so we need to send the signal
 		// directly to the PID of the controller. For every target, look for the controller
-		// PID file and send SIGINT to it.
+		// PID file and send SIGINT to it, then wait for it to exit concurrently.
+		var wg sync.WaitGroup
 		for _, t := range myTargets {
 			if statusFunc != nil {
 				_ = statusFunc(t.GetName(), "Signal received, cleaning up...")
 			}
 			pidFilePath := filepath.Join(t.GetTempDirectory(), script.ControllerPIDFileName)
-			stdout, _, exitcode, err := t.RunCommandEx(exec.Command("cat", pidFilePath), 5, false, true) // #nosec G204
+			stdout, _, _, err := t.RunCommandEx(exec.Command("cat", pidFilePath), 5, false, true) // #nosec G204
+			// if there's an error and the error type is exec.ExitError, the file likely doesn't exist
+			// so we can skip sending the signal to this target
 			if err != nil {
-				slog.Error("error retrieving target controller PID", slog.String("target", t.GetName()), slog.String("error", err.Error()))
+				var exitErr *exec.ExitError
+				if errors.As(err, &exitErr) {
+					slog.Debug("target controller PID file not found, assuming script has already exited", slog.String("target", t.GetName()))
+					continue
+				}
+				slog.Error("failed to retrieve target controller PID", slog.String("target", t.GetName()), slog.String("error", err.Error()))
 				continue
 			}
-			if exitcode == 0 {
-				pidStr := strings.TrimSpace(stdout)
-				err = signalProcessOnTarget(t, pidStr, "SIGINT")
-				if err != nil {
-					slog.Error("error sending SIGINT signal to target controller", slog.String("target", t.GetName()), slog.String("error", err.Error()))
-				}
+			pid := strings.TrimSpace(stdout)
+			// confirm pid is a valid integer
+			if _, err := strconv.Atoi(pid); err != nil {
+				slog.Error("invalid PID retrieved from target controller PID file", slog.String("target", t.GetName()), slog.String("pid", pid), slog.String("error", err.Error()))
+				continue
 			}
-		}
-		// now wait until all controller scripts have exited
-		slog.Debug("waiting for controller scripts to exit")
-		for _, t := range myTargets {
-			// create a per-target timeout context
-			targetTimeout := 10 * time.Second
-			ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), targetTimeout)
-			timedOut := false
-			pidFilePath := filepath.Join(t.GetTempDirectory(), script.ControllerPIDFileName)
-			// read the pid file
-			stdout, _, exitcode, err := t.RunCommandEx(exec.Command("cat", pidFilePath), 5, false, true) // #nosec G204
-			if err != nil || exitcode != 0 {
-				slog.Debug("target controller PID file no longer exists, assuming script has exited or is in the process of exiting", slog.String("target", t.GetName()))
-				cancel()
+			// send SIGINT to the controller process on the target
+			slog.Debug("signaling target controller process with SIGINT", slog.String("target", t.GetName()), slog.String("pid", pid))
+			err = signalProcessOnTarget(t, pid, "SIGINT")
+			if err != nil {
+				slog.Error("failed to send SIGINT signal to target controller", slog.String("target", t.GetName()), slog.String("error", err.Error()))
 				continue
 			}
-			pidStr := strings.TrimSpace(stdout)
-			for {
-				// determine if the process still exists
-				_, _, exitcode, err = t.RunCommandEx(exec.Command("ps", "-p", pidStr), 5, false, true) // #nosec G204
-				if err != nil || exitcode != 0 {
-					slog.Debug("target controller process no longer exists", slog.String("target", t.GetName()))
-					break
-				}
-				// check for timeout
-				select {
-				case <-ctx.Done():
-					timedOut = true
-				default:
-				}
-				if timedOut {
-					if statusFunc != nil {
-						_ = statusFunc(t.GetName(), "cleanup timeout exceeded, sending kill signal")
-					}
-					slog.Warn("signal handler cleanup timeout exceeded for target, sending SIGKILL", slog.String("target", t.GetName()))
-					err = signalProcessOnTarget(t, pidStr, "SIGKILL")
+			// spawn a goroutine to wait for this target's controller to exit
+			wg.Add(1)
+			go func(tgt target.Target, pid string) {
+				defer wg.Done()
+				// create a per-target timeout context
+				targetTimeout := 10 * time.Second
+				ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), targetTimeout)
+				defer cancel()
+				timedOut := false
+				for {
+					// determine if the process still exists
+					_, _, _, err := tgt.RunCommandEx(exec.Command("ps", "-p", pid), 5, false, true) // #nosec G204
 					if err != nil {
-						slog.Error("error sending SIGKILL signal to target controller", slog.String("target", t.GetName()), slog.String("error", err.Error()))
+						var exitErr *exec.ExitError
+						if errors.As(err, &exitErr) {
+							slog.Debug("target controller process no longer exists", slog.String("target", tgt.GetName()))
+							break
+						}
+						slog.Error("failed to check target controller process", slog.String("target", tgt.GetName()), slog.String("error", err.Error()))
+						break
 					}
-					break
+					// check for timeout
+					select {
+					case <-ctx.Done():
+						timedOut = true
+					default:
+					}
+					if timedOut {
+						if statusFunc != nil {
+							_ = statusFunc(tgt.GetName(), "cleanup timeout exceeded, sending kill signal")
+						}
+						slog.Warn("signal handler cleanup timeout exceeded for target, sending SIGKILL", slog.String("target", tgt.GetName()))
+						err := signalProcessOnTarget(tgt, pid, "SIGKILL")
+						if err != nil {
+							slog.Error("failed to send SIGKILL signal to target controller", slog.String("target", tgt.GetName()), slog.String("error", err.Error()))
+						}
+						break
+					}
+					// sleep for a short time before checking again
+					time.Sleep(500 * time.Millisecond)
 				}
-				// sleep for a short time before checking again
-				time.Sleep(500 * time.Millisecond)
-			}
-			cancel()
+			}(t, pid)
 		}
+		wg.Wait()
 
 		// Race condition between the controller script deleting its PID file and it truly exiting.
 		// Future work: reconsider decision to have the controller script delete its own PID file.
@@ -134,20 +150,20 @@ func configureSignalHandler(myTargets []target.Target, statusFunc progress.Multi
 		time.Sleep(500 * time.Millisecond)
 
 		// send SIGINT to perfspect's remaining children, if any
-		myPid := os.Getpid()
-		children, err := util.GetChildren(myPid)
+		perfspectPid := os.Getpid()
+		children, err := util.GetChildren(perfspectPid)
 		if err != nil {
-			slog.Error("error retrieving child processes", slog.String("error", err.Error()))
+			slog.Error("failed to retrieve perfspect's child processes", slog.String("error", err.Error()))
 			return
 		}
 		if len(children) == 0 {
-			slog.Debug("no child processes to signal")
+			slog.Debug("perfspect has no child processes to signal")
 			return
 		}
 		slog.Debug("signaling child processes", slog.String("child PIDs", fmt.Sprintf("%v", children)))
 		err = util.SignalChildren(syscall.SIGINT)
 		if err != nil {
-			slog.Error("error sending signal to children", slog.String("error", err.Error()))
+			slog.Error("failed to send SIGINT signal to perfspect's child processes", slog.String("error", err.Error()))
 		}
 	}()
 }