diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 547af0bcf3da..a22941e7e29f 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,3 +1,8 @@
+[build-system]
+# keep the version of poetry in sync with the version in pyproject.toml and Dockerfile
+requires = [ "poetry>=1.0.3",]
+build-backend = "poetry.masonry.api"
+
 [tool.black]
 line-length = 88
 target-version = [ "py36", "py37",]