diff --git a/spring-batch-core/pom.xml b/spring-batch-core/pom.xml
index f138264af..fd058a235 100644
--- a/spring-batch-core/pom.xml
+++ b/spring-batch-core/pom.xml
@@ -50,11 +50,6 @@
 			<artifactId>spring-jdbc</artifactId>
 			<version>${spring-framework.version}</version>
 		</dependency>
-		<dependency>
-			<groupId>com.fasterxml.jackson.core</groupId>
-			<artifactId>jackson-databind</artifactId>
-			<version>${jackson.version}</version>
-		</dependency>
 		<dependency>
 			<groupId>io.micrometer</groupId>
 			<artifactId>micrometer-core</artifactId>
@@ -67,6 +62,12 @@
 		</dependency>
 
 		<!-- optional production dependencies -->
+		<dependency>
+			<groupId>com.fasterxml.jackson.core</groupId>
+			<artifactId>jackson-databind</artifactId>
+			<version>${jackson.version}</version>
+			<optional>true</optional>
+		</dependency>
 		<dependency>
 			<groupId>jakarta.annotation</groupId>
 			<artifactId>jakarta.annotation-api</artifactId>
diff --git a/spring-batch-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/core/configuration/support/DefaultBatchConfiguration.java b/spring-batch-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/core/configuration/support/DefaultBatchConfiguration.java
index eec1e6ee1..cc62922a6 100644
--- a/spring-batch-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/core/configuration/support/DefaultBatchConfiguration.java
+++ b/spring-batch-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/core/configuration/support/DefaultBatchConfiguration.java
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ import org.springframework.batch.core.launch.support.TaskExecutorJobLauncher;
 import org.springframework.batch.core.repository.ExecutionContextSerializer;
 import org.springframework.batch.core.repository.JobRepository;
 import org.springframework.batch.core.repository.dao.AbstractJdbcBatchMetadataDao;
-import org.springframework.batch.core.repository.dao.Jackson2ExecutionContextStringSerializer;
+import org.springframework.batch.core.repository.dao.DefaultExecutionContextSerializer;
 import org.springframework.batch.core.repository.dao.JdbcExecutionContextDao;
 import org.springframework.batch.core.repository.dao.JdbcJobExecutionDao;
 import org.springframework.batch.core.repository.dao.JdbcStepExecutionDao;
@@ -299,11 +299,11 @@ public class DefaultBatchConfiguration implements ApplicationContextAware {
 
 	/**
 	 * A custom implementation of the {@link ExecutionContextSerializer}. The default, if
-	 * not injected, is the {@link Jackson2ExecutionContextStringSerializer}.
+	 * not injected, is the {@link DefaultExecutionContextSerializer}.
 	 * @return the serializer to use to serialize/deserialize the execution context
 	 */
 	protected ExecutionContextSerializer getExecutionContextSerializer() {
-		return new Jackson2ExecutionContextStringSerializer();
+		return new DefaultExecutionContextSerializer();
 	}
 
 	/**
diff --git a/spring-batch-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/core/explore/support/JobExplorerFactoryBean.java b/spring-batch-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/core/explore/support/JobExplorerFactoryBean.java
index 77df5e56d..fe3c5b9f9 100644
--- a/spring-batch-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/core/explore/support/JobExplorerFactoryBean.java
+++ b/spring-batch-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/core/explore/support/JobExplorerFactoryBean.java
@@ -24,8 +24,8 @@ import javax.sql.DataSource;
 import org.springframework.batch.core.explore.JobExplorer;
 import org.springframework.batch.core.repository.ExecutionContextSerializer;
 import org.springframework.batch.core.repository.dao.AbstractJdbcBatchMetadataDao;
+import org.springframework.batch.core.repository.dao.DefaultExecutionContextSerializer;
 import org.springframework.batch.core.repository.dao.ExecutionContextDao;
-import org.springframework.batch.core.repository.dao.Jackson2ExecutionContextStringSerializer;
 import org.springframework.batch.core.repository.dao.JdbcExecutionContextDao;
 import org.springframework.batch.core.repository.dao.JdbcJobExecutionDao;
 import org.springframework.batch.core.repository.dao.JdbcJobInstanceDao;
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ public class JobExplorerFactoryBean extends AbstractJobExplorerFactoryBean imple
 
 	/**
 	 * A custom implementation of {@link ExecutionContextSerializer}. The default, if not
-	 * injected, is the {@link Jackson2ExecutionContextStringSerializer}.
+	 * injected, is the {@link DefaultExecutionContextSerializer}.
 	 * @param serializer The serializer used to serialize or deserialize an
 	 * {@link org.springframework.batch.item.ExecutionContext}.
 	 * @see ExecutionContextSerializer
@@ -160,7 +160,7 @@ public class JobExplorerFactoryBean extends AbstractJobExplorerFactoryBean imple
 		}
 
 		if (serializer == null) {
-			serializer = new Jackson2ExecutionContextStringSerializer();
+			serializer = new DefaultExecutionContextSerializer();
 		}
 
 		if (this.conversionService == null) {
diff --git a/spring-batch-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/core/repository/dao/JdbcExecutionContextDao.java b/spring-batch-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/core/repository/dao/JdbcExecutionContextDao.java
index 3e858e4b0..65888dd51 100644
--- a/spring-batch-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/core/repository/dao/JdbcExecutionContextDao.java
+++ b/spring-batch-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/core/repository/dao/JdbcExecutionContextDao.java
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ public class JdbcExecutionContextDao extends AbstractJdbcBatchMetadataDao implem
 
 	private LobHandler lobHandler = new DefaultLobHandler();
 
-	private ExecutionContextSerializer serializer;
+	private ExecutionContextSerializer serializer = new DefaultExecutionContextSerializer();
 
 	/**
 	 * Setter for {@link Serializer} implementation
diff --git a/spring-batch-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/core/repository/support/JobRepositoryFactoryBean.java b/spring-batch-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/core/repository/support/JobRepositoryFactoryBean.java
index 8ef3d3789..9e2545357 100644
--- a/spring-batch-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/core/repository/support/JobRepositoryFactoryBean.java
+++ b/spring-batch-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/core/repository/support/JobRepositoryFactoryBean.java
@@ -27,8 +27,8 @@ import org.apache.commons.logging.LogFactory;
 
 import org.springframework.batch.core.repository.ExecutionContextSerializer;
 import org.springframework.batch.core.repository.dao.AbstractJdbcBatchMetadataDao;
+import org.springframework.batch.core.repository.dao.DefaultExecutionContextSerializer;
 import org.springframework.batch.core.repository.dao.ExecutionContextDao;
-import org.springframework.batch.core.repository.dao.Jackson2ExecutionContextStringSerializer;
 import org.springframework.batch.core.repository.dao.JdbcExecutionContextDao;
 import org.springframework.batch.core.repository.dao.JdbcJobExecutionDao;
 import org.springframework.batch.core.repository.dao.JdbcJobInstanceDao;
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ public class JobRepositoryFactoryBean extends AbstractJobRepositoryFactoryBean i
 
 	/**
 	 * A custom implementation of the {@link ExecutionContextSerializer}. The default, if
-	 * not injected, is the {@link Jackson2ExecutionContextStringSerializer}.
+	 * not injected, is the {@link DefaultExecutionContextSerializer}.
 	 * @param serializer used to serialize/deserialize
 	 * {@link org.springframework.batch.item.ExecutionContext}
 	 * @see ExecutionContextSerializer
@@ -221,7 +221,7 @@ public class JobRepositoryFactoryBean extends AbstractJobRepositoryFactoryBean i
 		}
 
 		if (serializer == null) {
-			Jackson2ExecutionContextStringSerializer defaultSerializer = new Jackson2ExecutionContextStringSerializer();
+			DefaultExecutionContextSerializer defaultSerializer = new DefaultExecutionContextSerializer();
 
 			serializer = defaultSerializer;
 		}
diff --git a/spring-batch-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/batch/core/repository/dao/JdbcExecutionContextDaoTests.java b/spring-batch-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/batch/core/repository/dao/JdbcExecutionContextDaoTests.java
index 52f1929bd..d43b25012 100644
--- a/spring-batch-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/batch/core/repository/dao/JdbcExecutionContextDaoTests.java
+++ b/spring-batch-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/batch/core/repository/dao/JdbcExecutionContextDaoTests.java
@@ -27,14 +27,6 @@ import static org.mockito.Mockito.mock;
 @SpringJUnitConfig(locations = { "sql-dao-test.xml" })
 class JdbcExecutionContextDaoTests extends AbstractExecutionContextDaoTests {
 
-	@Test
-	void testNoSerializer() {
-		JdbcExecutionContextDao jdbcExecutionContextDao = new JdbcExecutionContextDao();
-		jdbcExecutionContextDao.setJdbcTemplate(mock(JdbcOperations.class));
-		Exception exception = assertThrows(IllegalStateException.class, jdbcExecutionContextDao::afterPropertiesSet);
-		assertEquals("ExecutionContextSerializer is required", exception.getMessage());
-	}
-
 	@Test
 	void testNullSerializer() {
 		JdbcExecutionContextDao jdbcExecutionContextDao = new JdbcExecutionContextDao();
diff --git a/spring-batch-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/batch/core/repository/support/JobRepositoryFactoryBeanTests.java b/spring-batch-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/batch/core/repository/support/JobRepositoryFactoryBeanTests.java
index 5f3477c31..268033750 100644
--- a/spring-batch-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/batch/core/repository/support/JobRepositoryFactoryBeanTests.java
+++ b/spring-batch-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/batch/core/repository/support/JobRepositoryFactoryBeanTests.java
@@ -34,7 +34,6 @@ import org.springframework.batch.core.JobParameters;
 import org.springframework.batch.core.repository.ExecutionContextSerializer;
 import org.springframework.batch.core.repository.JobRepository;
 import org.springframework.batch.core.repository.dao.DefaultExecutionContextSerializer;
-import org.springframework.batch.core.repository.dao.Jackson2ExecutionContextStringSerializer;
 import org.springframework.batch.item.database.support.DataFieldMaxValueIncrementerFactory;
 import org.springframework.core.serializer.Serializer;
 import org.springframework.dao.DataAccessException;
@@ -172,7 +171,7 @@ class JobRepositoryFactoryBeanTests {
 		factory.afterPropertiesSet();
 		Serializer<Map<String, Object>> serializer = (Serializer<Map<String, Object>>) ReflectionTestUtils
 				.getField(factory, "serializer");
-		assertTrue(serializer instanceof Jackson2ExecutionContextStringSerializer);
+		assertTrue(serializer instanceof DefaultExecutionContextSerializer);
 	}
 
 	@Test
diff --git a/spring-batch-core/src/test/resources/org/springframework/batch/core/repository/dao/sql-dao-test.xml b/spring-batch-core/src/test/resources/org/springframework/batch/core/repository/dao/sql-dao-test.xml
index a86fad53e..dd3ab71cb 100644
--- a/spring-batch-core/src/test/resources/org/springframework/batch/core/repository/dao/sql-dao-test.xml
+++ b/spring-batch-core/src/test/resources/org/springframework/batch/core/repository/dao/sql-dao-test.xml
@@ -35,5 +35,5 @@
 		<constructor-arg ref="dataSource" />
 	</bean>
 
-	<bean id="serializer" class="org.springframework.batch.core.repository.dao.Jackson2ExecutionContextStringSerializer"/>
+	<bean id="serializer" class="org.springframework.batch.core.repository.dao.DefaultExecutionContextSerializer"/>
 </beans>
diff --git a/spring-batch-infrastructure/pom.xml b/spring-batch-infrastructure/pom.xml
index 74b23e473..68b660469 100644
--- a/spring-batch-infrastructure/pom.xml
+++ b/spring-batch-infrastructure/pom.xml
@@ -95,6 +95,12 @@
 			<version>${gson.version}</version>
 			<optional>true</optional>
 		</dependency>
+		<dependency>
+			<groupId>com.fasterxml.jackson.core</groupId>
+			<artifactId>jackson-databind</artifactId>
+			<version>${jackson.version}</version>
+			<optional>true</optional>
+		</dependency>
 		<dependency>
 			<groupId>org.hibernate.orm</groupId>
 			<artifactId>hibernate-core</artifactId>
diff --git a/spring-batch-integration/pom.xml b/spring-batch-integration/pom.xml
index 13ffe1608..9e17e38f7 100644
--- a/spring-batch-integration/pom.xml
+++ b/spring-batch-integration/pom.xml
@@ -80,6 +80,12 @@
 			<version>${spring-integration.version}</version>
 			<scope>test</scope>
 		</dependency>
+		<dependency>
+			<groupId>com.fasterxml.jackson.core</groupId>
+			<artifactId>jackson-databind</artifactId>
+			<version>${jackson.version}</version>
+			<scope>test</scope>
+		</dependency>
 		<dependency>
 			<groupId>org.apache.commons</groupId>
 			<artifactId>commons-dbcp2</artifactId>
diff --git a/spring-batch-samples/pom.xml b/spring-batch-samples/pom.xml
index c6f8f406a..290ad72b0 100644
--- a/spring-batch-samples/pom.xml
+++ b/spring-batch-samples/pom.xml
@@ -151,6 +151,11 @@
 			<artifactId>simpleclient_pushgateway</artifactId>
 			<version>${prometheus_pushgateway.version}</version>
 		</dependency>
+		<dependency>
+			<groupId>com.fasterxml.jackson.core</groupId>
+			<artifactId>jackson-databind</artifactId>
+			<version>${jackson.version}</version>
+		</dependency>
 		
 		<!-- test dependencies -->
 		<dependency>