diff --git a/pulse.opam b/pulse.opam
index 6b9820a11..6d4a13cc5 100644
--- a/pulse.opam
+++ b/pulse.opam
@@ -8,11 +8,16 @@ depends: [
   "ocaml"
   "fstar" {>= "2023.04.15~dev"}
 ]
+# require modern GNU make (brew package 'make') on mac
+depexts: ["coreutils" "make"] {os = "macos" & os-distribution = "homebrew"}
 build: [
-  [make "-j" jobs "ADMIT=1"]
+   # Makefile requires modern make - build with gmake on mac
+  ["gmake" "-j" jobs "ADMIT=1"] { os = "macos" }
+  [make "-j" jobs "ADMIT=1"] { os != "macos" }
 ]
 install: [
-  [make "PREFIX=%{prefix}%" "install"]
+  ["gmake" "PREFIX=%{prefix}%" "install"] { os = "macos" }
+  [make "PREFIX=%{prefix}%" "install"] { os != "macos" }
 ]
 dev-repo: "git://github.com/FStarLang/pulse"
 bug-reports: "https://github.com/FStarLang/pulse/issues"