diff --git a/pipeline.yaml b/pipeline.yaml
index d2bdb3b022..a7ff8f3d9d 100644
--- a/pipeline.yaml
+++ b/pipeline.yaml
@@ -457,7 +457,7 @@ jobs:
     - template: templates/conda.yml
     - template: templates/kv.yml
     - task: AzureCLI@2
-      displayName: 'Test R Code'
+      displayName: 'Prepare for tests'
       retryCountOnTaskFailure: 1
       timeoutInMinutes: 60
       inputs:
@@ -469,16 +469,24 @@ jobs:
           export SBT_OPTS="-Xms2G -Xmx4G -XX:+UseConcMarkSweepGC -XX:+CMSClassUnloadingEnabled -XX:MaxPermSize=4G -Xss5M  -Duser.timezone=GMT"
           source activate synapseml
           (timeout 5m sbt setup) || (echo "retrying" && timeout 5m sbt setup) || (echo "retrying" && timeout 5m sbt setup)
-          # tests in opencv and deep-learning source R wrappers from core, so core wrappers must exist
-          if [[ $(PACKAGE) -eq "opencv" || $(PACKAGE) -eq "deepLearning" ]]; then
-            (sbt "project core" rCodegen) || (echo "retrying" && sbt "project core" rCodegen) || (echo "retrying" && sbt "project core" rCodegen)
-          fi
+          sbt codegen
           sbt publishM2
-
           SPARK_VERSION=3.4.1
           HADOOP_VERSION=3
           wget https://archive.apache.org/dist/spark/spark-${SPARK_VERSION}/spark-${SPARK_VERSION}-bin-hadoop${HADOOP_VERSION}.tgz
-          (timeout 20m sbt "project $(PACKAGE)" coverage testR) || (echo "retrying" && timeout 20m sbt "project $(PACKAGE)" coverage testR) || (echo "retrying" && timeout 20m sbt "project $(PACKAGE)" coverage testR)
+    - task: AzureCLI@2
+      displayName: 'Test R Code'
+      retryCountOnTaskFailure: 3
+      timeoutInMinutes: 20
+      inputs:
+        azureSubscription: 'SynapseML Build'
+        scriptLocation: inlineScript
+        scriptType: bash
+        inlineScript: |
+          set -e
+          export SBT_OPTS="-Xms2G -Xmx4G -XX:+UseConcMarkSweepGC -XX:+CMSClassUnloadingEnabled -XX:MaxPermSize=4G -Xss5M  -Duser.timezone=GMT"
+          source activate synapseml
+          timeout 20m sbt -DskipCodegen=true "project $(PACKAGE)" coverage testR
     - task: PublishTestResults@2
       displayName: 'Publish Test Results'
       inputs:
@@ -701,6 +709,9 @@ jobs:
         scriptType: bash
         inlineScript: |
           (timeout 30s pip install requests) || (echo "retrying" && timeout 30s pip install requests)
+          (${FFMPEG:-false} && sudo apt-get update && \
+          sudo apt-get install ffmpeg libgstreamer1.0-0 \
+          gstreamer1.0-plugins-base gstreamer1.0-plugins-good gstreamer1.0-plugins-ugly -y)
           (timeout 5m sbt setup) || (echo "retrying" && timeout 5m sbt setup) || (echo "retrying" && timeout 5m sbt setup)
     - task: AzureCLI@2
       displayName: 'Unit Test'
@@ -712,9 +723,6 @@ jobs:
         scriptType: bash
         inlineScript: |
           ulimit -c unlimited
-          (${FFMPEG:-false} && sudo apt-get update && \
-          sudo apt-get install ffmpeg libgstreamer1.0-0 \
-          gstreamer1.0-plugins-base gstreamer1.0-plugins-good gstreamer1.0-plugins-ugly -y)
           export SBT_OPTS="-Xmx2G -XX:+UseConcMarkSweepGC -XX:+CMSClassUnloadingEnabled -XX:MaxPermSize=2G -Xss2M  -Duser.timezone=GMT"
           (timeout 30m sbt coverage "testOnly com.microsoft.azure.synapse.ml.$(PACKAGE).**") ||
           (${FLAKY:-false} && timeout 30m sbt coverage "testOnly com.microsoft.azure.synapse.ml.$(PACKAGE).**")