diff --git a/cpp/src/neighbors/detail/cagra/cagra_search.cuh b/cpp/src/neighbors/detail/cagra/cagra_search.cuh
index 95c158675..5778d85a6 100644
--- a/cpp/src/neighbors/detail/cagra/cagra_search.cuh
+++ b/cpp/src/neighbors/detail/cagra/cagra_search.cuh
@@ -151,7 +151,7 @@ void search_main(raft::resources const& res,
   if (auto* strided_dset = dynamic_cast<const strided_dataset<T, ds_idx_type>*>(&index.data());
       strided_dset != nullptr) {
     // Search using a plain (strided) row-major dataset
-    auto& desc = dataset_descriptor_init_with_cache<T, InternalIdxT, DistanceT>(
+    auto desc = dataset_descriptor_init_with_cache<T, InternalIdxT, DistanceT>(
       res, params, *strided_dset, index.metric());
     search_main_core<T, InternalIdxT, DistanceT, CagraSampleFilterT>(
       res, params, desc, graph_internal, queries, neighbors, distances, sample_filter);
@@ -161,7 +161,7 @@ void search_main(raft::resources const& res,
     RAFT_FAIL("FP32 VPQ dataset support is coming soon");
   } else if (auto* vpq_dset = dynamic_cast<const vpq_dataset<half, ds_idx_type>*>(&index.data());
              vpq_dset != nullptr) {
-    auto& desc = dataset_descriptor_init_with_cache<T, InternalIdxT, DistanceT>(
+    auto desc = dataset_descriptor_init_with_cache<T, InternalIdxT, DistanceT>(
       res, params, *vpq_dset, index.metric());
     search_main_core<T, InternalIdxT, DistanceT, CagraSampleFilterT>(
       res, params, desc, graph_internal, queries, neighbors, distances, sample_filter);
diff --git a/cpp/src/neighbors/detail/cagra/compute_distance.hpp b/cpp/src/neighbors/detail/cagra/compute_distance.hpp
index 297eb1f55..7eb798459 100644
--- a/cpp/src/neighbors/detail/cagra/compute_distance.hpp
+++ b/cpp/src/neighbors/detail/cagra/compute_distance.hpp
@@ -31,8 +31,10 @@
 #include <raft/util/device_loads_stores.cuh>
 #include <raft/util/vectorized.cuh>
 
+#include <atomic>
 #include <functional>
 #include <memory>
+#include <mutex>
 #include <type_traits>
 #include <variant>
 
@@ -232,52 +234,77 @@ struct alignas(device::LOAD_128BIT_T) dataset_descriptor_base_t {
  */
 template <typename DataT, typename IndexT, typename DistanceT>
 struct dataset_descriptor_host {
-  using dev_descriptor_t = dataset_descriptor_base_t<DataT, IndexT, DistanceT>;
-  using dd_ptr_t         = std::shared_ptr<dev_descriptor_t>;
-  using init_f =
-    std::tuple<std::function<void(dev_descriptor_t*, rmm::cuda_stream_view stream)>, size_t>;
+  using dev_descriptor_t         = dataset_descriptor_base_t<DataT, IndexT, DistanceT>;
   uint32_t smem_ws_size_in_bytes = 0;
   uint32_t team_size             = 0;
 
+  struct state {
+    using ready_t = std::tuple<dev_descriptor_t*, rmm::cuda_stream_view>;
+    using init_f =
+      std::tuple<std::function<void(dev_descriptor_t*, rmm::cuda_stream_view)>, size_t>;
+
+    std::mutex mutex;
+    std::atomic<bool> ready;  // Not sure if std::holds_alternative is thread-safe
+    std::variant<ready_t, init_f> value;
+
+    template <typename InitF>
+    state(InitF init, size_t size) : ready{false}, value{std::make_tuple(init, size)}
+    {
+    }
+
+    ~state() noexcept
+    {
+      if (std::holds_alternative<ready_t>(value)) {
+        auto& [ptr, stream] = std::get<ready_t>(value);
+        RAFT_CUDA_TRY_NO_THROW(cudaFreeAsync(ptr, stream));
+      }
+    }
+
+    void eval(rmm::cuda_stream_view stream)
+    {
+      std::lock_guard<std::mutex> lock(mutex);
+      if (std::holds_alternative<init_f>(value)) {
+        auto& [fun, size]     = std::get<init_f>(value);
+        dev_descriptor_t* ptr = nullptr;
+        RAFT_CUDA_TRY(cudaMallocAsync(&ptr, size, stream));
+        fun(ptr, stream);
+        value = std::make_tuple(ptr, stream);
+        ready.store(true, std::memory_order_release);
+      }
+    }
+
+    auto get(rmm::cuda_stream_view stream) -> dev_descriptor_t*
+    {
+      if (!ready.load(std::memory_order_acquire)) { eval(stream); }
+      return std::get<0>(std::get<ready_t>(value));
+    }
+  };
+
   template <typename DescriptorImpl, typename InitF>
   dataset_descriptor_host(const DescriptorImpl& dd_host, InitF init)
-    : value_{std::make_tuple(init, sizeof(DescriptorImpl))},
+    : value_{std::make_shared<state>(init, sizeof(DescriptorImpl))},
       smem_ws_size_in_bytes{dd_host.smem_ws_size_in_bytes()},
       team_size{dd_host.team_size()}
   {
   }
 
+  dataset_descriptor_host() = default;
+
   /**
    * Return the device pointer, possibly evaluating it in the given thread.
    */
   [[nodiscard]] auto dev_ptr(rmm::cuda_stream_view stream) const -> const dev_descriptor_t*
   {
-    if (std::holds_alternative<init_f>(value_)) { value_ = eval(std::get<init_f>(value_), stream); }
-    return std::get<dd_ptr_t>(value_).get();
+    return value_->get(stream);
   }
+
   [[nodiscard]] auto dev_ptr(rmm::cuda_stream_view stream) -> dev_descriptor_t*
   {
-    if (std::holds_alternative<init_f>(value_)) { value_ = eval(std::get<init_f>(value_), stream); }
-    return std::get<dd_ptr_t>(value_).get();
+    return value_->get(stream);
   }
 
  private:
-  mutable std::variant<dd_ptr_t, init_f> value_;
-
-  static auto eval(init_f init, rmm::cuda_stream_view stream) -> dd_ptr_t
-  {
-    using raft::RAFT_NAME;
-    auto& [fun, size] = init;
-    dd_ptr_t dev_ptr{
-      [stream, s = size]() {
-        dev_descriptor_t* p;
-        RAFT_CUDA_TRY(cudaMallocAsync(&p, s, stream));
-        return p;
-      }(),
-      [stream](dev_descriptor_t* p) { RAFT_CUDA_TRY_NO_THROW(cudaFreeAsync(p, stream)); }};
-    fun(dev_ptr.get(), stream);
-    return dev_ptr;
-  }
+  mutable std::shared_ptr<state> value_;
 };
 
 /**
diff --git a/cpp/src/neighbors/detail/cagra/factory.cuh b/cpp/src/neighbors/detail/cagra/factory.cuh
index abc907da5..e6e7ff64f 100644
--- a/cpp/src/neighbors/detail/cagra/factory.cuh
+++ b/cpp/src/neighbors/detail/cagra/factory.cuh
@@ -135,11 +135,9 @@ template <typename DataT, typename IndexT, typename DistanceT>
 struct store {
   /** Number of descriptors to cache. */
   static constexpr size_t kDefaultSize = 100;
-  raft::cache::lru<key,
-                   key_hash,
-                   std::equal_to<>,
-                   std::shared_ptr<dataset_descriptor_host<DataT, IndexT, DistanceT>>>
-    value{kDefaultSize};
+  raft::cache::
+    lru<key, key_hash, std::equal_to<>, dataset_descriptor_host<DataT, IndexT, DistanceT>>
+      value{kDefaultSize};
 };
 
 }  // namespace descriptor_cache
@@ -159,20 +157,18 @@ auto dataset_descriptor_init_with_cache(const raft::resources& res,
                                         const cagra::search_params& params,
                                         const DatasetT& dataset,
                                         cuvs::distance::DistanceType metric)
-  -> const dataset_descriptor_host<DataT, IndexT, DistanceT>&
+  -> dataset_descriptor_host<DataT, IndexT, DistanceT>
 {
-  using desc_t = dataset_descriptor_host<DataT, IndexT, DistanceT>;
-  auto key     = descriptor_cache::make_key(params, dataset, metric);
+  auto key = descriptor_cache::make_key(params, dataset, metric);
   auto& cache =
     raft::resource::get_custom_resource<descriptor_cache::store<DataT, IndexT, DistanceT>>(res)
       ->value;
-  std::shared_ptr<desc_t> desc{nullptr};
+  dataset_descriptor_host<DataT, IndexT, DistanceT> desc;
   if (!cache.get(key, &desc)) {
-    desc = std::make_shared<desc_t>(
-      std::move(dataset_descriptor_init<DataT, IndexT, DistanceT>(params, dataset, metric)));
+    desc = dataset_descriptor_init<DataT, IndexT, DistanceT>(params, dataset, metric);
     cache.set(key, desc);
   }
-  return *desc;
+  return desc;
 }
 
 };  // namespace cuvs::neighbors::cagra::detail
diff --git a/cpp/src/neighbors/detail/cagra/search_multi_cta.cuh b/cpp/src/neighbors/detail/cagra/search_multi_cta.cuh
index 0003f2495..ecfd856f1 100644
--- a/cpp/src/neighbors/detail/cagra/search_multi_cta.cuh
+++ b/cpp/src/neighbors/detail/cagra/search_multi_cta.cuh
@@ -93,10 +93,10 @@ struct search : public search_plan_impl<DataT, IndexT, DistanceT, SAMPLE_FILTER_
   using base_type::num_seeds;
 
   uint32_t num_cta_per_query;
-  rmm::device_uvector<INDEX_T> intermediate_indices;
-  rmm::device_uvector<float> intermediate_distances;
+  lightweight_uvector<INDEX_T> intermediate_indices;
+  lightweight_uvector<float> intermediate_distances;
   size_t topk_workspace_size;
-  rmm::device_uvector<uint32_t> topk_workspace;
+  lightweight_uvector<uint32_t> topk_workspace;
 
   search(raft::resources const& res,
          search_params params,
@@ -105,9 +105,9 @@ struct search : public search_plan_impl<DataT, IndexT, DistanceT, SAMPLE_FILTER_
          int64_t graph_degree,
          uint32_t topk)
     : base_type(res, params, dataset_desc, dim, graph_degree, topk),
-      intermediate_indices(0, raft::resource::get_cuda_stream(res)),
-      intermediate_distances(0, raft::resource::get_cuda_stream(res)),
-      topk_workspace(0, raft::resource::get_cuda_stream(res))
+      intermediate_indices(res),
+      intermediate_distances(res),
+      topk_workspace(res)
 
   {
     set_params(res, params);
diff --git a/cpp/src/neighbors/detail/cagra/search_multi_kernel.cuh b/cpp/src/neighbors/detail/cagra/search_multi_kernel.cuh
index 9c22134a6..c6fe21642 100644
--- a/cpp/src/neighbors/detail/cagra/search_multi_kernel.cuh
+++ b/cpp/src/neighbors/detail/cagra/search_multi_kernel.cuh
@@ -91,6 +91,15 @@ void get_value(T* const host_ptr, const T* const dev_ptr, cudaStream_t cuda_stre
   get_value_kernel<T><<<1, 1, 0, cuda_stream>>>(host_ptr, dev_ptr);
 }
 
+template <class T>
+auto get_value(const T* const dev_ptr, cudaStream_t stream) -> T
+{
+  T value;
+  RAFT_CUDA_TRY(cudaMemcpyAsync(&value, dev_ptr, sizeof(value), cudaMemcpyDefault, stream));
+  RAFT_CUDA_TRY(cudaStreamSynchronize(stream));
+  return value;
+}
+
 // MAX_DATASET_DIM : must equal to or greater than dataset_dim
 template <class DATASET_DESCRIPTOR_T>
 RAFT_KERNEL random_pickup_kernel(
@@ -609,18 +618,18 @@ struct search : search_plan_impl<DataT, IndexT, DistanceT, SAMPLE_FILTER_T> {
   using base_type::num_seeds;
 
   size_t result_buffer_allocation_size;
-  rmm::device_uvector<INDEX_T> result_indices;       // results_indices_buffer
-  rmm::device_uvector<DISTANCE_T> result_distances;  // result_distances_buffer
-  rmm::device_uvector<INDEX_T> parent_node_list;
-  rmm::device_uvector<uint32_t> topk_hint;
-  rmm::device_scalar<uint32_t> terminate_flag;  // dev_terminate_flag, host_terminate_flag.;
-  rmm::device_uvector<uint32_t> topk_workspace;
+  lightweight_uvector<INDEX_T> result_indices;       // results_indices_buffer
+  lightweight_uvector<DISTANCE_T> result_distances;  // result_distances_buffer
+  lightweight_uvector<INDEX_T> parent_node_list;
+  lightweight_uvector<uint32_t> topk_hint;
+  lightweight_uvector<uint32_t> terminate_flag;  // dev_terminate_flag, host_terminate_flag.;
+  lightweight_uvector<uint32_t> topk_workspace;
 
   // temporary storage for _find_topk
-  rmm::device_uvector<float> input_keys_storage;
-  rmm::device_uvector<float> output_keys_storage;
-  rmm::device_uvector<INDEX_T> input_values_storage;
-  rmm::device_uvector<INDEX_T> output_values_storage;
+  lightweight_uvector<float> input_keys_storage;
+  lightweight_uvector<float> output_keys_storage;
+  lightweight_uvector<INDEX_T> input_values_storage;
+  lightweight_uvector<INDEX_T> output_values_storage;
 
   search(raft::resources const& res,
          search_params params,
@@ -629,16 +638,16 @@ struct search : search_plan_impl<DataT, IndexT, DistanceT, SAMPLE_FILTER_T> {
          int64_t graph_degree,
          uint32_t topk)
     : base_type(res, params, dataset_desc, dim, graph_degree, topk),
-      result_indices(0, raft::resource::get_cuda_stream(res)),
-      result_distances(0, raft::resource::get_cuda_stream(res)),
-      parent_node_list(0, raft::resource::get_cuda_stream(res)),
-      topk_hint(0, raft::resource::get_cuda_stream(res)),
-      topk_workspace(0, raft::resource::get_cuda_stream(res)),
-      terminate_flag(raft::resource::get_cuda_stream(res)),
-      input_keys_storage(0, raft::resource::get_cuda_stream(res)),
-      output_keys_storage(0, raft::resource::get_cuda_stream(res)),
-      input_values_storage(0, raft::resource::get_cuda_stream(res)),
-      output_values_storage(0, raft::resource::get_cuda_stream(res))
+      result_indices(res),
+      result_distances(res),
+      parent_node_list(res),
+      topk_hint(res),
+      topk_workspace(res),
+      terminate_flag(res),
+      input_keys_storage(res),
+      output_keys_storage(res),
+      input_values_storage(res),
+      output_values_storage(res)
   {
     set_params(res);
   }
@@ -662,7 +671,7 @@ struct search : search_plan_impl<DataT, IndexT, DistanceT, SAMPLE_FILTER_T> {
       itopk_size, max_queries, result_buffer_size, utils::get_cuda_data_type<DATA_T>());
     RAFT_LOG_DEBUG("# topk_workspace_size: %lu", topk_workspace_size);
     topk_workspace.resize(topk_workspace_size, raft::resource::get_cuda_stream(res));
-
+    terminate_flag.resize(1, raft::resource::get_cuda_stream(res));
     hashmap.resize(hashmap_size, raft::resource::get_cuda_stream(res));
   }
 
@@ -847,7 +856,7 @@ struct search : search_plan_impl<DataT, IndexT, DistanceT, SAMPLE_FILTER_T> {
                           stream);
 
       // termination (2)
-      if (iter + 1 >= min_iterations && terminate_flag.value(stream)) {
+      if (iter + 1 >= min_iterations && get_value(terminate_flag.data(), stream)) {
         iter++;
         break;
       }
diff --git a/cpp/src/neighbors/detail/cagra/search_plan.cuh b/cpp/src/neighbors/detail/cagra/search_plan.cuh
index f23b96631..99254aa50 100644
--- a/cpp/src/neighbors/detail/cagra/search_plan.cuh
+++ b/cpp/src/neighbors/detail/cagra/search_plan.cuh
@@ -151,7 +151,7 @@ struct search_plan_impl : public search_plan_impl_base {
   lightweight_uvector<INDEX_T> hashmap;
   lightweight_uvector<uint32_t> num_executed_iterations;  // device or managed?
   lightweight_uvector<INDEX_T> dev_seed;
-  const dataset_descriptor_host<DataT, IndexT, DistanceT>& dataset_desc;
+  dataset_descriptor_host<DataT, IndexT, DistanceT> dataset_desc;
 
   search_plan_impl(raft::resources const& res,
                    search_params params,