diff --git a/pkgs/tools/misc/hdf5/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/misc/hdf5/default.nix
index ea68c3129e5b..b749e1ab9e13 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/misc/hdf5/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/misc/hdf5/default.nix
@@ -103,6 +103,8 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     done
   '';
 
+  enableParallelBuilding = true;
+
   passthru.tests = {
     inherit (python3.pkgs) h5py;
   };