diff --git a/brainles_preprocessing/utils/zenodo.py b/brainles_preprocessing/utils/zenodo.py
index b43f9d7..fe7183f 100644
--- a/brainles_preprocessing/utils/zenodo.py
+++ b/brainles_preprocessing/utils/zenodo.py
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 import zipfile
 from io import BytesIO
 from pathlib import Path
-from typing import Dict, List, Tuple
+from typing import ClassVar, Dict, List, Tuple
 
 import requests
 from loguru import logger
@@ -56,6 +56,9 @@ class ZenodoException(Exception):
 class ZenodoRecord:
     BASE_URL = "https://zenodo.org/api/records"
 
+    # Process-level cache: maps (record_id, target_dir) -> resolved Path
+    _cache: ClassVar[Dict[Tuple[str, str], Path]] = {}
+
     def __init__(
         self,
         record_id: str,
@@ -66,8 +69,34 @@ def __init__(
         self.target_dir = target_dir
         self.label = label
 
+    @classmethod
+    def clear_cache(cls) -> None:
+        """Clear the process-level fetch cache. Primarily intended for testing."""
+        cls._cache.clear()
+
+    def _cache_key(self) -> Tuple[str, str]:
+        return (self.record_id, str(self.target_dir))
+
     def fetch(self) -> Path:
-        """Fetch the latest version of the record from Zenodo or from local storage."""
+        """Fetch the latest version of the record from Zenodo or from local storage.
+
+        Results are cached for the lifetime of the process so that repeated calls
+        (e.g. when processing many subjects in a loop) do not trigger redundant
+        Zenodo API requests.
+        """
+        key = self._cache_key()
+
+        cached = ZenodoRecord._cache.get(key)
+        if cached is not None:
+            logger.debug(f"Using cached {self.label} path: {cached}")
+            return cached
+
+        result = self._fetch_uncached()
+        ZenodoRecord._cache[key] = result
+        return result
+
+    def _fetch_uncached(self) -> Path:
+        """Perform the actual Zenodo check / download without consulting the cache."""
         zenodo_response = self._get_metadata_and_archive_url()
 
         pattern = self._glob_pattern()
diff --git a/tests/test_zenodo.py b/tests/test_zenodo.py
index 7815b22..724cfe6 100644
--- a/tests/test_zenodo.py
+++ b/tests/test_zenodo.py
@@ -14,6 +14,14 @@
 # ---- Fixtures ----
 
 
+@pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
+def clear_zenodo_cache():
+    """Ensure the process-level ZenodoRecord cache is clean before every test."""
+    ZenodoRecord.clear_cache()
+    yield
+    ZenodoRecord.clear_cache()
+
+
 @pytest.fixture
 def dummy_metadata():
     return {
@@ -163,6 +171,76 @@ def test_fetch_replaces_old_version(
     mock_download.assert_called_once()
 
 
+# ---- Tests for process-level caching ----
+
+
+@patch.object(ZenodoRecord, "_fetch_uncached")
+def test_fetch_caches_result(mock_fetch_uncached, tmp_path):
+    """Second call to fetch() returns cached result without hitting _fetch_uncached."""
+    expected_path = tmp_path / "123_v1.2.3"
+    mock_fetch_uncached.return_value = expected_path
+
+    record = ZenodoRecord("123", tmp_path, "test")
+
+    result1 = record.fetch()
+    result2 = record.fetch()
+
+    assert result1 == expected_path
+    assert result2 == expected_path
+    # _fetch_uncached should only be called once despite two fetch() calls
+    mock_fetch_uncached.assert_called_once()
+
+
+@patch.object(ZenodoRecord, "_fetch_uncached")
+def test_fetch_cache_shared_across_instances(mock_fetch_uncached, tmp_path):
+    """Two separate ZenodoRecord instances with the same record_id share the cache."""
+    expected_path = tmp_path / "123_v1.2.3"
+    mock_fetch_uncached.return_value = expected_path
+
+    record1 = ZenodoRecord("123", tmp_path, "test")
+    record2 = ZenodoRecord("123", tmp_path, "other_label")
+
+    result1 = record1.fetch()
+    result2 = record2.fetch()
+
+    assert result1 == expected_path
+    assert result2 == expected_path
+    mock_fetch_uncached.assert_called_once()
+
+
+@patch.object(ZenodoRecord, "_fetch_uncached")
+def test_fetch_cache_different_records_independent(mock_fetch_uncached, tmp_path):
+    """Different record_ids each trigger their own fetch."""
+    path_a = tmp_path / "aaa_v1.0.0"
+    path_b = tmp_path / "bbb_v2.0.0"
+    mock_fetch_uncached.side_effect = [path_a, path_b]
+
+    record_a = ZenodoRecord("aaa", tmp_path, "a")
+    record_b = ZenodoRecord("bbb", tmp_path, "b")
+
+    result_a = record_a.fetch()
+    result_b = record_b.fetch()
+
+    assert result_a == path_a
+    assert result_b == path_b
+    assert mock_fetch_uncached.call_count == 2
+
+
+def test_clear_cache_resets_state(tmp_path):
+    """clear_cache() forces a fresh Zenodo check on the next fetch() call."""
+    with patch.object(ZenodoRecord, "_fetch_uncached") as mock_fetch_uncached:
+        expected_path = tmp_path / "123_v1.2.3"
+        mock_fetch_uncached.return_value = expected_path
+
+        record = ZenodoRecord("123", tmp_path, "test")
+        record.fetch()
+        assert mock_fetch_uncached.call_count == 1
+
+        ZenodoRecord.clear_cache()
+        record.fetch()
+        assert mock_fetch_uncached.call_count == 2
+
+
 # ---- fetch_atlases and fetch_synthstrip ----