diff --git a/indexing-hadoop/src/main/java/io/druid/indexer/HadoopDruidIndexerJob.java b/indexing-hadoop/src/main/java/io/druid/indexer/HadoopDruidIndexerJob.java
index 32cd0f4d3f1..49ea3654738 100644
--- a/indexing-hadoop/src/main/java/io/druid/indexer/HadoopDruidIndexerJob.java
+++ b/indexing-hadoop/src/main/java/io/druid/indexer/HadoopDruidIndexerJob.java
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 
 package io.druid.indexer;
 
+import com.google.common.base.Preconditions;
 import com.google.common.collect.Lists;
 import com.google.inject.Inject;
 import com.metamx.common.logger.Logger;
@@ -45,6 +46,11 @@ public class HadoopDruidIndexerJob implements Jobby
     config.verify();
     this.config = config;
 
+    Preconditions.checkArgument(
+        !config.isUpdaterJobSpecSet() || handler != null,
+        "MetadataStorageUpdaterJobHandler must not be null if ioConfig.metadataUpdateSpec is specified."
+    );
+
     if (config.isUpdaterJobSpecSet()) {
       metadataStorageUpdaterJob = new MetadataStorageUpdaterJob(
           config,
diff --git a/indexing-service/src/main/java/io/druid/indexing/common/task/HadoopIndexTask.java b/indexing-service/src/main/java/io/druid/indexing/common/task/HadoopIndexTask.java
index 2b032f47730..f195872dc55 100644
--- a/indexing-service/src/main/java/io/druid/indexing/common/task/HadoopIndexTask.java
+++ b/indexing-service/src/main/java/io/druid/indexing/common/task/HadoopIndexTask.java
@@ -290,10 +290,16 @@ public class HadoopIndexTask extends AbstractTask
               .withTuningConfig(theSchema.getTuningConfig().withVersion(version))
       );
 
-      HadoopDruidIndexerJob job = new HadoopDruidIndexerJob(
-          config,
-          injector.getInstance(MetadataStorageUpdaterJobHandler.class)
-      );
+      // MetadataStorageUpdaterJobHandler is only needed when running standalone without indexing service
+      // In that case the whatever runs the Hadoop Index Task must ensure MetadataStorageUpdaterJobHandler
+      // can be injected based on the configuration given in config.getSchema().getIOConfig().getMetadataUpdateSpec()
+      final MetadataStorageUpdaterJobHandler maybeHandler;
+      if (config.isUpdaterJobSpecSet()) {
+        maybeHandler = injector.getInstance(MetadataStorageUpdaterJobHandler.class);
+      } else {
+        maybeHandler = null;
+      }
+      HadoopDruidIndexerJob job = new HadoopDruidIndexerJob(config, maybeHandler);
 
       log.info("Starting a hadoop index generator job...");
       if (job.run()) {