diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index aef1ee16b..f55a4198c 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -63,6 +63,12 @@ option(UMF_FORMAT_CODE_STYLE
 set(UMF_HWLOC_NAME
     "hwloc"
     CACHE STRING "Custom name for hwloc library w/o extension")
+set(UMF_INSTALL_RPATH
+    ""
+    CACHE
+        STRING
+        "Set the runtime search path to the directory with dependencies (e.g. hwloc)"
+)
 
 # Only a part of skips is treated as a failure now. TODO: extend to all tests
 option(UMF_TESTS_FAIL_ON_SKIP "Treat skips in tests as fail" OFF)
diff --git a/src/CMakeLists.txt b/src/CMakeLists.txt
index 7078d629f..2f7480c81 100644
--- a/src/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -115,6 +115,10 @@ elseif(MACOSX)
 endif()
 
 if(UMF_BUILD_SHARED_LIBRARY)
+    if(UMF_INSTALL_RPATH)
+        set(CMAKE_INSTALL_RPATH "${UMF_INSTALL_RPATH}")
+    endif()
+
     if(NOT UMF_DISABLE_HWLOC)
         set(HWLOC_LIB ${UMF_HWLOC_NAME})
     endif()