diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 5e6f37812..d0131677c 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@
         "networkx",
         "loguru",
         "pyarrow",
+        "dill",
         # Type stubs
         "pandas-stubs",
     ]
diff --git a/src/vivarium/framework/engine.py b/src/vivarium/framework/engine.py
index 96934835b..e3c47ba9a 100644
--- a/src/vivarium/framework/engine.py
+++ b/src/vivarium/framework/engine.py
@@ -21,8 +21,10 @@
 
 from pathlib import Path
 from pprint import pformat
+from time import time
 from typing import Any, Dict, List, Optional, Set, Union
 
+import dill
 import numpy as np
 import pandas as pd
 import yaml
@@ -42,7 +44,7 @@
 from vivarium.framework.randomness import RandomnessInterface
 from vivarium.framework.resource import ResourceInterface
 from vivarium.framework.results import ResultsInterface
-from vivarium.framework.time import TimeInterface
+from vivarium.framework.time import Time, TimeInterface
 from vivarium.framework.values import ValuesInterface
 
 
@@ -206,6 +208,11 @@ def __init__(
     def name(self) -> str:
         return self._name
 
+    @property
+    def current_time(self) -> Time:
+        """Returns the current simulation time."""
+        return self._clock.time
+
     def get_results(self) -> Dict[str, pd.DataFrame]:
         """Return the formatted results."""
         return self._results.get_results()
@@ -246,7 +253,7 @@ def initialize_simulants(self) -> None:
         self._clock.step_forward(self.get_population().index)
 
     def step(self) -> None:
-        self._logger.debug(self._clock.time)
+        self._logger.debug(self.current_time)
         for event in self.time_step_events:
             self._logger.debug(f"Event: {event}")
             self._lifecycle.set_state(event)
@@ -258,9 +265,22 @@ def step(self) -> None:
             self.time_step_emitters[event](pop_to_update)
         self._clock.step_forward(self.get_population().index)
 
-    def run(self) -> None:
-        while self._clock.time < self._clock.stop_time:
-            self.step()
+    def run(
+        self,
+        backup_path: Optional[Path] = None,
+        backup_freq: Optional[Union[int, float]] = None,
+    ) -> None:
+        if backup_freq:
+            time_to_save = time() + backup_freq
+            while self.current_time < self._clock.stop_time:
+                self.step()
+                if time() >= time_to_save:
+                    self._logger.debug(f"Writing Simulation Backup to {backup_path}")
+                    self.write_backup(backup_path)
+                    time_to_save = time() + backup_freq
+        else:
+            while self.current_time < self._clock.stop_time:
+                self.step()
 
     def finalize(self) -> None:
         self._lifecycle.set_state("simulation_end")
@@ -296,6 +316,10 @@ def _write_results(self, results: dict[str, pd.DataFrame]) -> None:
         except ConfigurationKeyError:
             self._logger.info("No results directory set; results are not written to disk.")
 
+    def write_backup(self, backup_path: Path) -> None:
+        with open(backup_path, "wb") as f:
+            dill.dump(self, f, protocol=dill.HIGHEST_PROTOCOL)
+
     def get_performance_metrics(self) -> pd.DataFrame:
         timing_dict = self._lifecycle.timings
         total_time = np.sum([np.sum(v) for v in timing_dict.values()])
diff --git a/tests/framework/test_engine.py b/tests/framework/test_engine.py
index 8520e244e..5146f4e99 100644
--- a/tests/framework/test_engine.py
+++ b/tests/framework/test_engine.py
@@ -1,8 +1,10 @@
 import math
 from itertools import product
 from pathlib import Path
+from time import time
 from typing import Dict, List
 
+import dill
 import pandas as pd
 import pytest
 
@@ -347,6 +349,45 @@ def test_SimulationContext_report_write(SimulationContext, base_config, componen
         assert results.equals(written_results)
 
 
+def test_SimulationContext_write_backup(mocker, SimulationContext, tmpdir):
+    # TODO MIC-5216: Remove mocks when we can use dill in pytest.
+    mocker.patch("vivarium.framework.engine.dill.dump")
+    mocker.patch("vivarium.framework.engine.dill.load", return_value=SimulationContext())
+    sim = SimulationContext()
+    backup_path = tmpdir / "backup.pkl"
+    sim.write_backup(backup_path)
+    assert backup_path.exists()
+    with open(backup_path, "rb") as f:
+        sim_backup = dill.load(f)
+    assert isinstance(sim_backup, SimulationContext)
+
+
+def test_SimulationContext_run_with_backup(mocker, SimulationContext, base_config, tmpdir):
+    mocker.patch("vivarium.framework.engine.SimulationContext.write_backup")
+    original_time = time()
+
+    def time_generator():
+        current_time = original_time
+        while True:
+            yield current_time
+            current_time += 5
+
+    mocker.patch("vivarium.framework.engine.time", side_effect=time_generator())
+    components = [
+        Hogwarts(),
+        HousePointsObserver(),
+        NoStratificationsQuidditchWinsObserver(),
+        QuidditchWinsObserver(),
+        HogwartsResultsStratifier(),
+    ]
+    sim = SimulationContext(base_config, components, configuration=HARRY_POTTER_CONFIG)
+    backup_path = tmpdir / "backup.pkl"
+    sim.setup()
+    sim.initialize_simulants()
+    sim.run(backup_path=backup_path, backup_freq=5)
+    assert sim.write_backup.call_count == _get_num_steps(sim)
+
+
 def test_get_results_formatting(SimulationContext, base_config):
     """Test formatted results are as expected"""
     components = [