diff --git a/lib/ramble/ramble/application.py b/lib/ramble/ramble/application.py
index 0f569b30f..c942046b4 100644
--- a/lib/ramble/ramble/application.py
+++ b/lib/ramble/ramble/application.py
@@ -2300,24 +2300,46 @@ def _object_templates(self, workspace):
         """Return templates defined from different objects associated with the app_inst"""
         run_dir = self.expander.experiment_run_dir
         replacements = workspace.workspace_paths()
+        expander = self.expander
+
+        def _expand_path(path):
+            return ramble.util.path.substitute_path_variables(
+                expander.expand_var(path), local_replacements=replacements
+            )
 
         def _get_template_config(obj, tpl_config, obj_type):
-            # Search up the object chain to resolve source path
-            found = False
-            object_paths = [e[1] for e in ramble.repository.list_object_files(obj, obj_type)]
-            src_name = tpl_config["src_name"]
-            for obj_path in object_paths:
-                src_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(obj_path), src_name)
-                if os.path.isfile(src_path):
-                    found = True
-                    break
-            if not found:
-                raise ApplicationError(f"Object {obj.name} is missing template file at {src_path}")
+            # Resolve the source path
+            src_path_config = _expand_path(tpl_config["src_path"])
+            if not os.path.isabs(src_path_config):
+                # Search up the object chain to resolve source path
+                found = False
+                object_paths = [e[1] for e in ramble.repository.list_object_files(obj, obj_type)]
+                searched_paths = []
+                for obj_path in object_paths:
+                    src_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(obj_path), src_path_config)
+                    if os.path.isfile(src_path):
+                        found = True
+                        break
+                    searched_paths.append(src_path)
+                if not found:
+                    raise ApplicationError(
+                        f"Object {obj.name} is missing template file {src_path_config}. "
+                        f"Searched paths: {searched_paths}"
+                    )
+            else:
+                if not os.path.isfile(src_path_config):
+                    raise ApplicationError(f"Template file {src_path_config} does not exist")
+                src_path = src_path_config
 
             # Resolve the destination path
-            dest_path = ramble.util.path.substitute_path_variables(
-                tpl_config["dest_path"], local_replacements=replacements
-            )
+            tpl_ext = ".tpl"
+            dest_path_config = tpl_config["dest_path"]
+            if dest_path_config is None:
+                dest_path = os.path.basename(src_path)
+                if dest_path.endswith(tpl_ext):
+                    dest_path = dest_path[: -len(tpl_ext)]
+            else:
+                dest_path = _expand_path(tpl_config["dest_path"])
             if not os.path.isabs(dest_path):
                 dest_path = os.path.join(run_dir, dest_path)
 
@@ -2327,11 +2349,9 @@ def _get_template_config(obj, tpl_config, obj_type):
             for tpl_conf in obj.templates.values():
                 yield _get_template_config(obj, tpl_conf, obj_type=obj_type)
 
-    def _render_object_templates(self, extra_vars, workspace):
+    def _render_object_templates(self, extra_vars_origin, workspace):
         for obj, tpl_config in self._object_templates(workspace):
-            extra_vars = extra_vars.copy()
-            if callable(getattr(obj, "template_render_vars", None)):
-                extra_vars.update(obj.template_render_vars())
+            extra_vars = extra_vars_origin.copy()
             src_path = tpl_config["src_path"]
             with open(src_path) as f_in:
                 content = f_in.read()
@@ -2351,10 +2371,20 @@ def _render_object_templates(self, extra_vars, workspace):
             os.chmod(out_path, perm)
 
     def _define_object_template_vars(self, workspace):
-        for _, tpl_config in self._object_templates(workspace):
+        var_attr = {
+            "type": ramble.keywords.key_type.reserved,
+            "level": ramble.keywords.output_level.variable,
+        }
+        for obj, tpl_config in self._object_templates(workspace):
             var_name = tpl_config["var_name"]
             if var_name is not None:
                 self.variables[var_name] = tpl_config["dest_path"]
+                self.keywords.update_keys({var_name: var_attr})
+            if callable(getattr(obj, "template_render_vars", None)):
+                render_vars = obj.template_render_vars()
+                self.variables.update(render_vars)
+                for name in render_vars.keys():
+                    self.keywords.update_keys({name: var_attr})
 
     def _objects(self):
         """Return a tuple for each object instance associated with the app_inst.
diff --git a/lib/ramble/ramble/language/shared_language.py b/lib/ramble/ramble/language/shared_language.py
index d0e5db760..1be47cfde 100644
--- a/lib/ramble/ramble/language/shared_language.py
+++ b/lib/ramble/ramble/language/shared_language.py
@@ -492,8 +492,8 @@ def _execute_target_shells(obj):
 @shared_directive("templates")
 def register_template(
     name: str,
-    src_name: str,
-    dest_path: str,
+    src_path: str,
+    dest_path: Optional[str] = None,
     define_var: bool = True,
     extra_vars: Optional[dict] = None,
     extra_vars_func: Optional[str] = None,
@@ -501,7 +501,7 @@ def register_template(
 ):
     """Directive to define an object-specific template to be rendered into experiment run_dir.
 
-    For instance, `register_template(name="foo", src_name="foo.tpl", dest_path="foo.sh")`
+    For instance, `register_template(name="foo", src_path="foo.tpl", dest_path="foo.sh")`
     expects a "foo.tpl" template defined alongside the object source, and uses that to
     render a file under "{experiment_run_dir}/foo.sh". The rendered path can also be
     referenced with the `foo` variable name.
@@ -510,12 +510,16 @@ def register_template(
         name: The name of the template. It is also used as the variable name
               that an experiment can use to reference the rendered path, if
               `define_var` is true.
-        src_name: The leaf name of the template. This is used to locate the
-                  the template under the containing directory of the object.
-        dest_path: The location of the rendered output. It can either point
+        src_path: The location of the template. It can either point
+                  to an absolute or a relative path. It knows how to resolve
+                  workspace paths such as `$workspace_shared`. A relative path
+                  is relative to the containing directory of the object source.
+        dest_path: If present, the location of the rendered output. It can either point
                    to an absolute or a relative path. It knows how to resolve
                    workspace paths such as `$workspace_shared`. A relative path
-                   is relative to the `experiment_run_dir`.
+                   is relative to the `experiment_run_dir`. If not given, it will
+                   use the same name as the template (optionally drop the .tpl extension)
+                   and placed under `experiment_run_dir`.
         define_var: Controls if a variable named `name` should be defined.
         extra_vars: If present, the variable dict is used as extra variables to
                     render the template.
@@ -530,7 +534,7 @@ def _define_template(obj):
         var_name = name if define_var else None
         extra_vars_func_name = f"_{extra_vars_func}" if extra_vars_func is not None else None
         obj.templates[name] = {
-            "src_name": src_name,
+            "src_path": src_path,
             "dest_path": dest_path,
             "var_name": var_name,
             "extra_vars": extra_vars,
diff --git a/lib/ramble/ramble/test/end_to_end/test_template.py b/lib/ramble/ramble/test/end_to_end/test_template.py
index 775bbaaa1..c7305e0bf 100644
--- a/lib/ramble/ramble/test/end_to_end/test_template.py
+++ b/lib/ramble/ramble/test/end_to_end/test_template.py
@@ -55,13 +55,18 @@ def test_template():
         assert "echo not_exist" not in content
     execute_path = os.path.join(run_dir, "execute_experiment")
     script2_path = os.path.join(ws.shared_dir, "script.sh")
-    assert os.path.isfile(script2_path)
+    script3_path = os.path.join(run_dir, "expansion_script.sh")
+    script4_path = os.path.join(run_dir, "bar")
     with open(execute_path) as f:
         content = f.read()
         assert script_path in content
         # The workspace path should be expanded
         assert "$workspace_shared" not in content
         assert script2_path in content
+        assert script3_path in content
+    assert os.path.isfile(script2_path)
+    assert os.path.isfile(script3_path)
+    assert os.path.isfile(script4_path)
 
 
 def test_template_inherited():
diff --git a/lib/ramble/ramble/test/workflow_manager_functionality/slurm_workflow_manager.py b/lib/ramble/ramble/test/workflow_manager_functionality/slurm_workflow_manager.py
index 97ba3238e..d5840cf06 100644
--- a/lib/ramble/ramble/test/workflow_manager_functionality/slurm_workflow_manager.py
+++ b/lib/ramble/ramble/test/workflow_manager_functionality/slurm_workflow_manager.py
@@ -48,6 +48,9 @@ def test_slurm_workflow():
             test_{wm_name}_2:
               variables:
                 slurm_partition: h3
+            test_{wm_name}_3:
+              variables:
+                slurm_execute_template_path: $workspace_configs/execute_experiment.tpl
 """
     with ramble.workspace.create(workspace_name) as ws:
         ws.write()
@@ -68,7 +71,7 @@ def test_slurm_workflow():
         # Assert on no workflow manager
         path = os.path.join(ws.experiment_dir, "hostname", "local", "test_None")
         files = [f for f in os.listdir(path) if os.path.isfile(os.path.join(path, f))]
-        assert "slurm_execute_experiment" not in files
+        assert "slurm_experiment_sbatch" not in files
         assert "batch_submit" not in files
         assert "batch_query" not in files
         assert "batch_cancel" not in files
@@ -77,16 +80,15 @@ def test_slurm_workflow():
         # Assert on slurm workflow manager
         path = os.path.join(ws.experiment_dir, "hostname", "local", "test_slurm")
         files = [f for f in os.listdir(path) if os.path.isfile(os.path.join(path, f))]
-        assert "slurm_execute_experiment" in files
         assert "batch_submit" in files
         assert "batch_query" in files
         assert "batch_cancel" in files
         assert "batch_wait" in files
         with open(os.path.join(path, "batch_submit")) as f:
             content = f.read()
-            assert "slurm_execute_experiment" in content
+            assert "slurm_experiment_sbatch" in content
             assert ".slurm_job" in content
-        with open(os.path.join(path, "slurm_execute_experiment")) as f:
+        with open(os.path.join(path, "slurm_experiment_sbatch")) as f:
             content = f.read()
             assert "scontrol show hostnames" in content
             assert "#SBATCH --gpus-per-task=1" in content
@@ -101,6 +103,15 @@ def test_slurm_workflow():
 
         # Assert on the experiment with non-empty partition variable given
         path = os.path.join(ws.experiment_dir, "hostname", "local", "test_slurm_2")
-        with open(os.path.join(path, "slurm_execute_experiment")) as f:
+        with open(os.path.join(path, "slurm_experiment_sbatch")) as f:
             content = f.read()
             assert "#SBATCH -p h3" in content
+
+        # Assert on the experiment with custom slurm execute template
+        path = os.path.join(ws.experiment_dir, "hostname", "local", "test_slurm_3")
+        assert not os.path.exists(os.path.join(path, "slurm_experiment_sbatch"))
+        with open(os.path.join(path, "execute_experiment")) as f:
+            content = f.read()
+            # Since it uses the default execute_experiment tpl, no slurm content is present
+            assert "#SBATCH" not in content
+            assert "scontrol" not in content
diff --git a/var/ramble/repos/builtin.mock/applications/template/application.py b/var/ramble/repos/builtin.mock/applications/template/application.py
index 0c9112835..cba5989cd 100644
--- a/var/ramble/repos/builtin.mock/applications/template/application.py
+++ b/var/ramble/repos/builtin.mock/applications/template/application.py
@@ -14,7 +14,10 @@ class Template(ExecutableApplication):
 
     name = "template"
 
-    executable("foo", template=["bash {bar}", "echo {test}"])
+    executable(
+        "foo",
+        template=["bash {bar}", "echo {test}", "echo {expansion_test_path}"],
+    )
 
     workload("test_template", executable="foo")
 
@@ -27,7 +30,7 @@ class Template(ExecutableApplication):
 
     register_template(
         name="bar",
-        src_name="bar.tpl",
+        src_path="bar.tpl",
         dest_path="bar.sh",
         # The `dynamic_hello_world` will be overridden by `_bar_vars`
         extra_vars={
@@ -42,9 +45,28 @@ def _bar_vars(self):
         val = expander.expand_var('"hello {hello_name}"')
         return {"dynamic_hello_world": val}
 
+    register_template(
+        name="bar2",
+        src_path="bar.tpl",
+    )
+
     register_template(
         name="test",
-        src_name="script.sh",
+        src_path="script.sh",
         dest_path="$workspace_shared/script.sh",
         output_perm="755",
     )
+
+    # Setup to test the path expansion for both src and dest
+    workload_variable(
+        "src_script_path",
+        default="$workspace_configs/execute_experiment.tpl",
+        description="source path of the template",
+        workload="test_template",
+    )
+
+    register_template(
+        name="expansion_test_path",
+        src_path="{src_script_path}",
+        dest_path="{experiment_run_dir}/expansion_script.sh",
+    )
diff --git a/var/ramble/repos/builtin/base_applications/hpcg/base_application.py b/var/ramble/repos/builtin/base_applications/hpcg/base_application.py
index e324bfbb0..6f683c294 100644
--- a/var/ramble/repos/builtin/base_applications/hpcg/base_application.py
+++ b/var/ramble/repos/builtin/base_applications/hpcg/base_application.py
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ class Hpcg(ExecutableApplication):
 
     register_template(
         name="hpcg_dat",
-        src_name="hpcg.dat.tpl",
+        src_path="hpcg.dat.tpl",
         dest_path="hpcg.dat",
         define_var=False,
     )
diff --git a/var/ramble/repos/builtin/base_applications/hpl/base_application.py b/var/ramble/repos/builtin/base_applications/hpl/base_application.py
index 5dd2957e6..32ebfe536 100644
--- a/var/ramble/repos/builtin/base_applications/hpl/base_application.py
+++ b/var/ramble/repos/builtin/base_applications/hpl/base_application.py
@@ -343,7 +343,7 @@ def _isqrt(self, n):
 
     register_template(
         "hpl_dat",
-        src_name="HPL.dat.tpl",
+        src_path="HPL.dat.tpl",
         dest_path="HPL.dat",
         define_var=False,
     )
diff --git a/var/ramble/repos/builtin/workflow_managers/slurm/batch_submit.tpl b/var/ramble/repos/builtin/workflow_managers/slurm/batch_submit.tpl
index e42c1493a..3bd9598a9 100644
--- a/var/ramble/repos/builtin/workflow_managers/slurm/batch_submit.tpl
+++ b/var/ramble/repos/builtin/workflow_managers/slurm/batch_submit.tpl
@@ -1,2 +1,2 @@
 #!/bin/bash
-sbatch {slurm_execute_experiment} | tee >(awk '{print $NF}' > {experiment_run_dir}/.slurm_job)
+sbatch {slurm_experiment_sbatch} | tee >(awk '{print $NF}' > {experiment_run_dir}/.slurm_job)
diff --git a/var/ramble/repos/builtin/workflow_managers/slurm/slurm_execute_experiment.tpl b/var/ramble/repos/builtin/workflow_managers/slurm/slurm_experiment_sbatch.tpl
similarity index 100%
rename from var/ramble/repos/builtin/workflow_managers/slurm/slurm_execute_experiment.tpl
rename to var/ramble/repos/builtin/workflow_managers/slurm/slurm_experiment_sbatch.tpl
diff --git a/var/ramble/repos/builtin/workflow_managers/slurm/workflow_manager.py b/var/ramble/repos/builtin/workflow_managers/slurm/workflow_manager.py
index 63d1e0acb..e71b5857f 100644
--- a/var/ramble/repos/builtin/workflow_managers/slurm/workflow_manager.py
+++ b/var/ramble/repos/builtin/workflow_managers/slurm/workflow_manager.py
@@ -83,35 +83,42 @@ def __init__(self, file_path):
         description="partition to submit job to, if unspecified, it uses the default partition",
     )
 
+    workflow_manager_variable(
+        name="slurm_execute_template_path",
+        default="slurm_experiment_sbatch.tpl",
+        description="Path to the custom template for generating the slurm sbatch job script. "
+        "If a relative path is given, it is searched under the workflow manager's source directory. "
+        "The path can contain workspace path variables such as $workspace_config.",
+    )
+
     register_template(
         name="batch_submit",
-        src_name="batch_submit.tpl",
+        src_path="batch_submit.tpl",
         dest_path="batch_submit",
     )
 
     register_template(
         name="batch_query",
-        src_name="batch_query.tpl",
+        src_path="batch_query.tpl",
         dest_path="batch_query",
         extra_vars={"declare_status_map": _declare_status_map()},
     )
 
     register_template(
         name="batch_cancel",
-        src_name="batch_cancel.tpl",
+        src_path="batch_cancel.tpl",
         dest_path="batch_cancel",
     )
 
     register_template(
         name="batch_wait",
-        src_name="batch_wait.tpl",
+        src_path="batch_wait.tpl",
         dest_path="batch_wait",
     )
 
     register_template(
-        name="slurm_execute_experiment",
-        src_name="slurm_execute_experiment.tpl",
-        dest_path="slurm_execute_experiment",
+        name="slurm_experiment_sbatch",
+        src_path="{slurm_execute_template_path}",
     )
 
     def template_render_vars(self):