diff --git a/pkgs/development/go-modules/generic/default.nix b/pkgs/development/go-modules/generic/default.nix
index f0d3be6487c..7842df6b58f 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/go-modules/generic/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/go-modules/generic/default.nix
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-{ go, govers, lib }:
+{ go, govers, parallel, lib }:
 
 { name, buildInputs ? [], nativeBuildInputs ? [], passthru ? {}, preFixup ? ""
 
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ go.stdenv.mkDerivation (
   (builtins.removeAttrs args [ "goPackageAliases" "disabled" ]) // {
 
   name = "go${go.meta.branch}-${name}";
-  nativeBuildInputs = [ go ]
+  nativeBuildInputs = [ go parallel ]
     ++ (lib.optional (!dontRenameImports) govers) ++ nativeBuildInputs;
   buildInputs = [ go ] ++ buildInputs;
 
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ go.stdenv.mkDerivation (
     rmdir extraSrc
 
   '') + ''
-    GOPATH=$NIX_BUILD_TOP/go:$GOPATH
+    export GOPATH=$NIX_BUILD_TOP/go:$GOPATH
 
     runHook postConfigure
   '';
@@ -80,38 +80,39 @@ go.stdenv.mkDerivation (
 
     runHook renameImports
 
-    PIDS=()
-    if [ -n "$subPackages" ] ; then
-        for p in $subPackages ; do
-            go install $buildFlags "''${buildFlagsArray[@]}" -p $NIX_BUILD_CORES -v $goPackagePath/$p &
-            PIDS+=("$!")
-        done
-    else
-        pushd go/src
-        while read d; do
-          {
-            echo "$d" | grep -q "/_" && continue
-            [ -n "$excludedPackages" ] && echo "$d" | grep -q "$excludedPackages" && continue
-            local OUT
-            if ! OUT="$(go install $buildFlags "''${buildFlagsArray[@]}" -p $NIX_BUILD_CORES -v $d 2>&1)"; then
-                if ! echo "$OUT" | grep -q 'no buildable Go source files'; then
-                    echo "$OUT" >&2
-                    exit 1
-                fi
-            fi
-            if [ -n "$OUT" ]; then
-              echo "$OUT" >&2
-            fi
-          } &
-          PIDS+=("$!")
-        done < <(find $goPackagePath -type f -name \*.go -exec dirname {} \; | sort | uniq)
-        popd
-    fi
+    buildGoDir() {
+      local d; local cmd;
+      cmd="$1"
+      d="$2"
+      echo "$d" | grep -q "/_" && return 0
+      [ -n "$excludedPackages" ] && echo "$d" | grep -q "$excludedPackages" && return 0
+      local OUT
+      if ! OUT="$(go $cmd $buildFlags "''${buildFlagsArray[@]}" -v $d 2>&1)"; then
+        if ! echo "$OUT" | grep -q 'no buildable Go source files'; then
+          echo "$OUT" >&2
+          return 1
+        fi
+      fi
+      if [ -n "$OUT" ]; then
+        echo "$OUT" >&2
+      fi
+      return 0
+    }
 
-    # Exit on error from the parallel process
-    for PID in "''${PIDS[@]}"; do
-        wait $PID || exit 1
-    done
+    getGoDirs() {
+      local type;
+      type="$1"
+      if [ -n "$subPackages" ]; then
+        echo "$subPackages" | sed "s,\(^\| \),\1$goPackagePath/,g"
+      else
+        pushd go/src >/dev/null
+        find "$goPackagePath" -type f -name \*$type.go -exec dirname {} \; | sort | uniq
+        popd >/dev/null
+      fi
+    }
+
+    export -f buildGoDir # parallel needs to see the function
+    getGoDirs "" | parallel -j $NIX_BUILD_CORES buildGoDir install
 
     runHook postBuild
   '';
@@ -119,25 +120,7 @@ go.stdenv.mkDerivation (
   checkPhase = args.checkPhase or ''
     runHook preCheck
 
-    PIDS=()
-    if [ -n "$subPackages" ] ; then
-        for p in $subPackages ; do
-            go test -p $NIX_BUILD_CORES -v $goPackagePath/$p &
-            PIDS+=("$!")
-        done
-    else
-        pushd go/src
-        while read d; do
-            go test -p $NIX_BUILD_CORES -v $d &
-            PIDS+=("$!")
-        done < <(find $goPackagePath -type f -name \*_test.go -exec dirname {} \; | sort | uniq)
-        popd
-    fi
-
-    # Exit on error from the parallel process
-    for PID in "''${PIDS[@]}"; do
-        wait $PID || exit 1
-    done
+    getGoDirs test | parallel -j $NIX_BUILD_CORES buildGoDir test
 
     runHook postCheck
   '';
diff --git a/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix b/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
index 7ef3efd8c83..fe194bdc3f7 100644
--- a/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
+++ b/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
@@ -8665,7 +8665,7 @@ let
     buildGoPackage = import ../development/go-modules/generic {
       go = go_1_4;
       govers = go14Packages.govers;
-      inherit lib;
+      inherit parallel lib;
     };
     overrides = (config.goPackageOverrides or (p: {})) pkgs;
   });
@@ -8675,7 +8675,7 @@ let
     buildGoPackage = import ../development/go-modules/generic {
       go = go_1_5;
       govers = go15Packages.govers;
-      inherit lib;
+      inherit parallel lib;
     };
     overrides = (config.goPackageOverrides or (p: {})) pkgs;
   });