diff --git a/build-jenkins.sh b/build-jenkins.sh
index 5eecd06..91f032e 100755
--- a/build-jenkins.sh
+++ b/build-jenkins.sh
@@ -19,10 +19,12 @@
 #                     Default: "", variable ignored by default
 #  cont_import_mnt    The directory on the container used to import extra files
 #                     Default: "/mnt/jenkins_import", will be ignored by default
-#  options            What will be passed as the environment variable for the
+#  jenkins_options    What will be passed as the environment variable for the
 #                     JENKINS_OPTS environment variable.
 #                     Default: "--prefix=/jenkins"
-#
+#  java_options       What will be passed as the environment variable for the
+#                     JAVA_OPTS environment variable.
+#                     Default: "-Xmx4096m"
 # Build Variables:
 #  img_tag            The tag for the OpenJDK image used to build the Dockerfile
 #                     Default: "/8-jdk"
@@ -59,7 +61,8 @@
 home_mnt=${home_mnt:-${workspace}/jenkins_home}
 host_import_mnt=${host_import_mnt:-}
 cont_import_mnt=${cont_import_mnt:-/mnt/jenkins_import}
-options="--prefix=/jenkins"
+jenkins_options=${jenkins_options:-"--prefix=/jenkins"}
+java_options=${java_options:-"-Xmx4096m"}
 
 # Dockerfile Variables
 img_tag=${img_tag:-8-jdk}
@@ -118,7 +121,7 @@
 ENV JENKINS_HOME ${j_home}
 ENV JENKINS_SLAVE_AGENT_PORT ${agent_port}
 
-# Jenkins will default to run with user `jenkins`, uid = 1000
+# Jenkins will default to run with user jenkins, uid = 1000
 # If you bind mount a volume from the host or a data container,
 # ensure you use the same uid
 RUN groupadd -g ${j_gid} ${j_group} && \
@@ -128,7 +131,7 @@
 # can be persisted and survive image upgrades
 VOLUME ${j_home}
 
-# `/usr/share/jenkins/ref/` contains all reference configuration we want
+# /usr/share/jenkins/ref/ contains all reference configuration we want
 # to set on a fresh new installation. Use it to bundle additional plugins
 # or config file with your custom jenkins Docker image.
 RUN mkdir -p /usr/share/jenkins/ref/init.groovy.d
@@ -161,7 +164,7 @@
 COPY jenkins.sh /usr/local/bin/jenkins.sh
 ENTRYPOINT ["/bin/tini", "--", "/usr/local/bin/jenkins.sh"]
 
-# from a derived Dockerfile, can use `RUN plugins.sh active.txt` to setup /usr/share/jenkins/ref/plugins from a support bundle
+# from a derived Dockerfile, can use RUN plugins.sh active.txt to setup /usr/share/jenkins/ref/plugins from a support bundle
 COPY plugins.sh /usr/local/bin/plugins.sh
 COPY install-plugins.sh /usr/local/bin/install-plugins.sh
 
@@ -240,7 +243,8 @@
     -v ${home_mnt}:${j_home} \
     -p ${http_port}:8080 \
     -p ${agent_port}:${agent_port} \
-    --env JENKINS_OPTS=\"${options}\" \
+    --env JAVA_OPTS=\"${java_options}\" \
+    --env JENKINS_OPTS=\"${jenkins_options}\" \
     ${out_img}
 
 elif [[ ${launch} == "k8s" ]]; then