diff --git a/contrib/gce/cloud-init/master.yaml b/contrib/gce/cloud-init/master.yaml
index 5fdf1dc7c4a6..35c869c5b84b 100644
--- a/contrib/gce/cloud-init/master.yaml
+++ b/contrib/gce/cloud-init/master.yaml
@@ -1,5 +1,11 @@
 #cloud-config
 
+users:
+- name: etcd
+  homedir: /var/etcd
+  lock_passwd: true
+  ssh_redirect_user: true
+
 write_files:
 # Setup containerd.
   - path: /etc/systemd/system/containerd-installation.service