diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index b06164529e15..0107d4aedbdf 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -6763,7 +6763,6 @@ dependencies = [
  "reth-network-api",
  "reth-node-api",
  "reth-node-ethereum",
- "reth-node-optimism",
  "reth-payload-builder",
  "reth-primitives",
  "reth-provider",
@@ -7192,6 +7191,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "futures",
  "jsonrpsee",
  "reth",
+ "reth-node-ethereum",
  "tokio",
 ]
 
diff --git a/crates/node-api/src/engine/mod.rs b/crates/node-api/src/engine/mod.rs
index 95425b141bb9..a58373846bfa 100644
--- a/crates/node-api/src/engine/mod.rs
+++ b/crates/node-api/src/engine/mod.rs
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@
 //!
 //! /// Custom engine types - uses a custom payload attributes RPC type, but uses the default
 //! /// payload builder attributes type.
-//! #[derive(Clone, Debug, Default)]
+//! #[derive(Clone, Debug, Default, serde::Deserialize)]
 //! #[non_exhaustive]
 //! pub struct CustomEngineTypes;
 //!
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ pub mod payload;
 pub use payload::PayloadOrAttributes;
 
 /// The types that are used by the engine.
-pub trait EngineTypes: Send + Sync {
+pub trait EngineTypes: serde::de::DeserializeOwned + Send + Sync {
     /// The RPC payload attributes type the CL node emits via the engine API.
     type PayloadAttributes: PayloadAttributes + Unpin;
 
diff --git a/crates/node-core/src/args/rpc_server_args.rs b/crates/node-core/src/args/rpc_server_args.rs
index c5fc8a668ce7..c70fe3a0e8a8 100644
--- a/crates/node-core/src/args/rpc_server_args.rs
+++ b/crates/node-core/src/args/rpc_server_args.rs
@@ -273,7 +273,7 @@ impl RpcServerArgs {
     /// Returns the handles for the launched regular RPC server(s) (if any) and the server handle
     /// for the auth server that handles the `engine_` API that's accessed by the consensus
     /// layer.
-    pub async fn start_servers<Reth, Engine, Conf, EngineT: EngineTypes>(
+    pub async fn start_servers<Reth, Engine, Conf, EngineT>(
         &self,
         components: &Reth,
         engine_api: Engine,
@@ -281,8 +281,9 @@ impl RpcServerArgs {
         conf: &mut Conf,
     ) -> eyre::Result<RethRpcServerHandles>
     where
-        Reth: RethNodeComponents,
+        EngineT: EngineTypes + 'static,
         Engine: EngineApiServer<EngineT>,
+        Reth: RethNodeComponents,
         Conf: RethNodeCommandConfig,
     {
         let auth_config = self.auth_server_config(jwt_secret)?;
diff --git a/crates/node-ethereum/src/engine.rs b/crates/node-ethereum/src/engine.rs
index 75a98dbd2dc9..eb5f65b79dca 100644
--- a/crates/node-ethereum/src/engine.rs
+++ b/crates/node-ethereum/src/engine.rs
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ use reth_primitives::ChainSpec;
 use reth_rpc_types::engine::PayloadAttributes as EthPayloadAttributes;
 
 /// The types used in the default mainnet ethereum beacon consensus engine.
-#[derive(Debug, Default, Clone)]
+#[derive(Debug, Default, Clone, serde::Deserialize)]
 #[non_exhaustive]
 pub struct EthEngineTypes;
 
diff --git a/crates/node-optimism/src/engine.rs b/crates/node-optimism/src/engine.rs
index 8d1dadc67c7f..a65427e76501 100644
--- a/crates/node-optimism/src/engine.rs
+++ b/crates/node-optimism/src/engine.rs
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ use reth_primitives::{ChainSpec, Hardfork};
 use reth_rpc_types::engine::OptimismPayloadAttributes;
 
 /// The types used in the optimism beacon consensus engine.
-#[derive(Debug, Default, Clone)]
+#[derive(Debug, Default, Clone, serde::Deserialize)]
 #[non_exhaustive]
 pub struct OptimismEngineTypes;
 
diff --git a/crates/rpc/rpc-api/src/engine.rs b/crates/rpc/rpc-api/src/engine.rs
index 87c7184d3410..15a6deb820e7 100644
--- a/crates/rpc/rpc-api/src/engine.rs
+++ b/crates/rpc/rpc-api/src/engine.rs
@@ -1,3 +1,8 @@
+//! Server traits for the engine API
+//!
+//! This contains the `engine_` namespace and the subset of the `eth_` namespace that is exposed to
+//! the consensus client.
+
 use jsonrpsee::{core::RpcResult, proc_macros::rpc};
 use reth_node_api::EngineTypes;
 use reth_primitives::{Address, BlockHash, BlockId, BlockNumberOrTag, Bytes, B256, U256, U64};
@@ -11,6 +16,13 @@ use reth_rpc_types::{
     BlockOverrides, CallRequest, Filter, Log, RichBlock, SyncStatus,
 };
 
+// NOTE: We can't use associated types in the `EngineApi` trait because of jsonrpsee, so we use a
+// generic here. It would be nice if the rpc macro would understand which types need to have serde.
+// By default, if the trait has a generic, the rpc macro will add e.g. `Engine: DeserializeOwned` to
+// the trait bounds, which is not what we want, because `Types` is not used directly in any of the
+// trait methods. Instead, we have to add the bounds manually. This would be disastrous if we had
+// more than one associated type used in the trait methods.
+
 #[cfg_attr(not(feature = "client"), rpc(server, namespace = "engine"), server_bounds(Engine::PayloadAttributes: jsonrpsee::core::DeserializeOwned))]
 #[cfg_attr(feature = "client", rpc(server, client, namespace = "engine", client_bounds(Engine::PayloadAttributes: jsonrpsee::core::Serialize + Clone), server_bounds(Engine::PayloadAttributes: jsonrpsee::core::DeserializeOwned)))]
 pub trait EngineApi<Engine: EngineTypes> {
@@ -148,13 +160,6 @@ pub trait EngineApi<Engine: EngineTypes> {
     async fn exchange_capabilities(&self, capabilities: Vec<String>) -> RpcResult<Vec<String>>;
 }
 
-// NOTE: We can't use associated types in the `EngineApi` trait because of jsonrpsee, so we use a
-// generic here. It would be nice if the rpc macro would understand which types need to have serde.
-// By default, if the trait has a generic, the rpc macro will add e.g. `Engine: DeserializeOwned` to
-// the trait bounds, which is not what we want, because `Types` is not used directly in any of the
-// trait methods. Instead, we have to add the bounds manually. This would be disastrous if we had
-// more than one associated type used in the trait methods.
-
 /// A subset of the ETH rpc interface: <https://ethereum.github.io/execution-apis/api-documentation/>
 ///
 /// Specifically for the engine auth server: <https://github.com/ethereum/execution-apis/blob/main/src/engine/common.md#underlying-protocol>
diff --git a/crates/rpc/rpc-builder/Cargo.toml b/crates/rpc/rpc-builder/Cargo.toml
index 375822514eec..3c278bafc1f4 100644
--- a/crates/rpc/rpc-builder/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/rpc/rpc-builder/Cargo.toml
@@ -13,21 +13,14 @@ workspace = true
 
 [dependencies]
 # reth
-reth-primitives.workspace = true
 reth-ipc.workspace = true
-reth-interfaces.workspace = true
 reth-network-api.workspace = true
 reth-provider.workspace = true
 reth-rpc.workspace = true
 reth-rpc-api.workspace = true
-reth-rpc-engine-api.workspace = true
-reth-rpc-types.workspace = true
 reth-tasks.workspace = true
 reth-transaction-pool.workspace = true
-reth-rpc-types-compat.workspace = true
 reth-node-api.workspace = true
-reth-node-optimism = { workspace = true, optional = true }
-reth-node-ethereum.workspace = true
 
 # rpc/net
 jsonrpsee = { workspace = true, features = ["server"] }
@@ -46,14 +39,19 @@ thiserror.workspace = true
 tracing.workspace = true
 
 [dev-dependencies]
-reth-tracing.workspace = true
-reth-rpc-api = { workspace = true, features = ["client"] }
-reth-transaction-pool = { workspace = true, features = ["test-utils"] }
-reth-provider = { workspace = true, features = ["test-utils"] }
-reth-network-api.workspace = true
-reth-interfaces = { workspace = true, features = ["test-utils"] }
 reth-beacon-consensus.workspace = true
+reth-interfaces = { workspace = true, features = ["test-utils"] }
+reth-network-api.workspace = true
+reth-node-ethereum.workspace = true
 reth-payload-builder = { workspace = true, features = ["test-utils"] }
+reth-primitives.workspace = true
+reth-provider = { workspace = true, features = ["test-utils"] }
+reth-rpc-api = { workspace = true, features = ["client"] }
+reth-rpc-engine-api.workspace = true
+reth-rpc-types.workspace = true
+reth-rpc-types-compat.workspace = true
+reth-tracing.workspace = true
+reth-transaction-pool = { workspace = true, features = ["test-utils"] }
 
 tokio = { workspace = true, features = ["rt", "rt-multi-thread"] }
 serde_json.workspace = true
diff --git a/crates/rpc/rpc-builder/src/auth.rs b/crates/rpc/rpc-builder/src/auth.rs
index 5649784e3aa4..7626584903af 100644
--- a/crates/rpc/rpc-builder/src/auth.rs
+++ b/crates/rpc/rpc-builder/src/auth.rs
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ where
     Pool: TransactionPool + Clone + 'static,
     Network: NetworkInfo + Peers + Clone + 'static,
     Tasks: TaskSpawner + Clone + 'static,
-    EngineT: EngineTypes,
+    EngineT: EngineTypes + 'static,
     EngineApi: EngineApiServer<EngineT>,
     EvmConfig: EvmEnvConfig + 'static,
 {
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ where
         + 'static,
     Pool: TransactionPool + Clone + 'static,
     Network: NetworkInfo + Peers + Clone + 'static,
-    EngineT: EngineTypes,
+    EngineT: EngineTypes + 'static,
     EngineApi: EngineApiServer<EngineT>,
     EvmConfig: EvmEnvConfig + 'static,
 {
@@ -267,7 +267,7 @@ impl AuthRpcModule {
     /// Create a new `AuthRpcModule` with the given `engine_api`.
     pub fn new<EngineApi, EngineT>(engine: EngineApi) -> Self
     where
-        EngineT: EngineTypes,
+        EngineT: EngineTypes + 'static,
         EngineApi: EngineApiServer<EngineT>,
     {
         let mut module = RpcModule::new(());
diff --git a/crates/rpc/rpc-builder/src/lib.rs b/crates/rpc/rpc-builder/src/lib.rs
index 39ae87153a0f..a9473cc25895 100644
--- a/crates/rpc/rpc-builder/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/rpc/rpc-builder/src/lib.rs
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@
 //!     Network: NetworkInfo + Peers + Clone + 'static,
 //!     Events: CanonStateSubscriptions + Clone + 'static,
 //!     EngineApi: EngineApiServer<EngineT>,
-//!     EngineT: EngineTypes,
+//!     EngineT: EngineTypes + 'static,
 //!     EvmConfig: EvmEnvConfig + 'static,
 //! {
 //!     // configure the rpc module per transport
@@ -168,13 +168,16 @@ use jsonrpsee::{
     Methods, RpcModule,
 };
 use reth_node_api::{EngineTypes, EvmEnvConfig};
-use reth_node_ethereum::EthEvmConfig;
 use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize, Serializer};
 use strum::{AsRefStr, EnumIter, EnumVariantNames, IntoStaticStr, ParseError, VariantNames};
 use tower::layer::util::{Identity, Stack};
 use tower_http::cors::CorsLayer;
 use tracing::{instrument, trace};
 
+use crate::{
+    auth::AuthRpcModule, error::WsHttpSamePortError, metrics::RpcServerMetrics,
+    RpcModuleSelection::Selection,
+};
 use constants::*;
 use error::{RpcError, ServerKind};
 use reth_ipc::server::IpcServer;
@@ -198,11 +201,6 @@ use reth_rpc::{
 use reth_rpc_api::{servers::*, EngineApiServer};
 use reth_tasks::{TaskSpawner, TokioTaskExecutor};
 use reth_transaction_pool::{noop::NoopTransactionPool, TransactionPool};
-
-use crate::{
-    auth::AuthRpcModule, error::WsHttpSamePortError, metrics::RpcServerMetrics,
-    RpcModuleSelection::Selection,
-};
 // re-export for convenience
 pub use crate::eth::{EthConfig, EthHandlers};
 
@@ -448,7 +446,7 @@ where
     ///
     /// This behaves exactly as [RpcModuleBuilder::build] for the [TransportRpcModules], but also
     /// configures the auth (engine api) server, which exposes a subset of the `eth_` namespace.
-    pub fn build_with_auth_server<EngineApi, EngineT: EngineTypes>(
+    pub fn build_with_auth_server<EngineApi, EngineT>(
         self,
         module_config: TransportRpcModuleConfig,
         engine: EngineApi,
@@ -458,6 +456,7 @@ where
         RethModuleRegistry<Provider, Pool, Network, Tasks, Events, EvmConfig>,
     )
     where
+        EngineT: EngineTypes + 'static,
         EngineApi: EngineApiServer<EngineT>,
     {
         let mut modules = TransportRpcModules::default();
@@ -494,20 +493,24 @@ where
     ///
     /// ```no_run
     /// use reth_network_api::noop::NoopNetwork;
+    /// use reth_node_api::EvmEnvConfig;
     /// use reth_provider::test_utils::{NoopProvider, TestCanonStateSubscriptions};
     /// use reth_rpc_builder::RpcModuleBuilder;
     /// use reth_tasks::TokioTaskExecutor;
     /// use reth_transaction_pool::noop::NoopTransactionPool;
     ///
-    /// let mut registry = RpcModuleBuilder::default()
-    ///     .with_provider(NoopProvider::default())
-    ///     .with_pool(NoopTransactionPool::default())
-    ///     .with_network(NoopNetwork::default())
-    ///     .with_executor(TokioTaskExecutor::default())
-    ///     .with_events(TestCanonStateSubscriptions::default())
-    ///     .into_registry(Default::default());
-    ///
-    /// let eth_api = registry.eth_api();
+    /// fn init<Evm: EvmEnvConfig + 'static>(evm: Evm) {
+    ///     let mut registry = RpcModuleBuilder::default()
+    ///         .with_provider(NoopProvider::default())
+    ///         .with_pool(NoopTransactionPool::default())
+    ///         .with_network(NoopNetwork::default())
+    ///         .with_executor(TokioTaskExecutor::default())
+    ///         .with_events(TestCanonStateSubscriptions::default())
+    ///         .with_evm_config(evm)
+    ///         .into_registry(Default::default());
+    ///
+    ///     let eth_api = registry.eth_api();
+    /// }
     /// ```
     pub fn into_registry(
         self,
@@ -549,9 +552,9 @@ where
     }
 }
 
-impl Default for RpcModuleBuilder<(), (), (), (), (), EthEvmConfig> {
+impl Default for RpcModuleBuilder<(), (), (), (), (), ()> {
     fn default() -> Self {
-        RpcModuleBuilder::new((), (), (), (), (), EthEvmConfig::default())
+        RpcModuleBuilder::new((), (), (), (), (), ())
     }
 }
 
@@ -1101,7 +1104,7 @@ where
     /// Note: This does _not_ register the `engine_` in this registry.
     pub fn create_auth_module<EngineApi, EngineT>(&mut self, engine_api: EngineApi) -> AuthRpcModule
     where
-        EngineT: EngineTypes,
+        EngineT: EngineTypes + 'static,
         EngineApi: EngineApiServer<EngineT>,
     {
         let eth_handlers = self.eth_handlers();
diff --git a/examples/rpc-db/Cargo.toml b/examples/rpc-db/Cargo.toml
index 9a23e7af8d28..84569620c294 100644
--- a/examples/rpc-db/Cargo.toml
+++ b/examples/rpc-db/Cargo.toml
@@ -9,5 +9,6 @@ license.workspace = true
 futures.workspace = true
 jsonrpsee.workspace = true
 reth.workspace = true
+reth-node-ethereum.workspace = true
 tokio = { workspace = true, features = ["full"] }
 eyre.workspace = true
diff --git a/examples/rpc-db/src/main.rs b/examples/rpc-db/src/main.rs
index 6048a39bf4e2..79b801e02bb0 100644
--- a/examples/rpc-db/src/main.rs
+++ b/examples/rpc-db/src/main.rs
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ use reth::{
     blockchain_tree::noop::NoopBlockchainTree, providers::test_utils::TestCanonStateSubscriptions,
     tasks::TokioTaskExecutor,
 };
+use reth_node_ethereum::EthEvmConfig;
 use std::{path::Path, sync::Arc};
 
 // Custom rpc extension
@@ -53,6 +54,7 @@ async fn main() -> eyre::Result<()> {
         .with_noop_pool()
         .with_noop_network()
         .with_executor(TokioTaskExecutor::default())
+        .with_evm_config(EthEvmConfig::default())
         .with_events(TestCanonStateSubscriptions::default());
 
     // Pick which namespaces to expose.