diff --git a/DESCRIPTION b/DESCRIPTION
index 6c74f065..c57f337f 100644
--- a/DESCRIPTION
+++ b/DESCRIPTION
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 Package: pacta.workflow.utils
 Title: Utility functions for PACTA workflows
-Version: 0.0.0.9004
+Version: 0.0.0.9005
 Authors@R: 
     c(person(given = "Alex",
              family = "Axthelm",
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ Imports:
 Suggests: 
     covr,
     devtools,
+    jsonvalidate,
     pak,
     testthat (>= 3.0.0),
     withr
diff --git a/R/parse_json_params.R b/R/parse_json_params.R
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..466279f8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/R/parse_json_params.R
@@ -0,0 +1,124 @@
+parse_params <- function(
+  json,
+  inheritence_search_paths = NULL,
+  schema_file = NULL
+) {
+  log_trace("Parsing params.")
+  if (file.exists(json)) {
+    log_trace("Reading params from file: {json}.}")
+  } else {
+    log_trace("Reading params from string.")
+  }
+  raw_params <- jsonlite::fromJSON(json)
+  full_params <- inherit_params(
+    raw_params,
+    inheritence_search_paths
+  )
+
+  if (!is.null(schema_file)) {
+    if (requireNamespace("jsonvalidate", quietly = TRUE)) {
+      log_trace("Validating parameters.")
+      validation_results <- jsonvalidate::json_validate(
+        json = jsonlite::toJSON(full_params, auto_unbox = TRUE),
+        schema = schema_file,
+        verbose = TRUE
+      )
+      if (validation_results) {
+        log_trace("Validation successful.")
+      } else {
+        log_error("Validation against JSON Schema failed.")
+        log_error("Schema file: {schema_file}")
+        pretty_log_jsonvalidate_errors(validation_results)
+        stop("JSON Validation failed.")
+      }
+    } else {
+      log_error("jsonvalidate package not found.")
+      stop("jsonvalidate package not found.")
+    }
+  } else {
+    log_trace("No JSON Schema provided. Skipping validation.")
+  }
+
+  return(full_params)
+}
+
+inherit_params <- function(
+  params,
+  inheritence_search_paths
+) {
+  inherit_key <- "inherit"
+
+  inherited_files <- NULL
+  while (inherit_key %in% names(params)) {
+
+    # check for multiple inheritence keys
+    if (sum(names(params) == inherit_key) > 1L) {
+      log_error("Multiple inheritence keys found.")
+      stop("Multiple inheritence keys found.")
+    }
+
+    log_trace(
+      "Key \"{inherit_key}\" found in parameters. Inheriting parameters."
+    )
+
+    to_inherit <- params[[inherit_key]]
+    if (length(to_inherit) > 1L) {
+      log_error("Multiple values in inherit key.")
+      stop("Multiple values in inherit key.")
+    }
+    params[[inherit_key]] <- NULL # remove inherit key
+
+    possible_paths <- file.path(
+      inheritence_search_paths,
+      paste0(to_inherit, ".json")
+    )
+    candidate_file <- possible_paths[file.exists(possible_paths)]
+    if (length(candidate_file) == 0L) {
+      log_error("Inheritence file not found: {possible_paths}.")
+      stop("Inheritence file not found.")
+    } else {
+      if (length(candidate_file) > 1L) {
+        log_warn("Multiple files matching inheritence pattern found:")
+        log_warn("{candidate_file}.")
+        warning("Multiple inheritence files found.")
+        candidate_file <- candidate_file[[1L]]
+        log_warn("Using first file: {candidate_file}.")
+      }
+    }
+    if (candidate_file %in% inherited_files) {
+      log_error(
+        "Inheritence loop detected while inheriting from {candidate_file}."
+      )
+      log_error("Inherited file: {inherited_files}.")
+      stop("Inheritence loop detected.")
+    }
+    inherited_files <- c(inherited_files, candidate_file)
+    log_trace("Inheriting parameters from file: {candidate_file}.")
+    inherit_params <- jsonlite::fromJSON(candidate_file)
+    params <- merge_lists(
+      base_list = inherit_params,
+      overlay_list = params
+    )
+  }
+
+  log_trace("No inheritence key (\"{inherit_key}\") found.")
+  return(params)
+}
+
+pretty_log_jsonvalidate_errors <- function(
+  validation_object,
+  logging_function = log_error
+) {
+  errors <- attr(validation_object, "errors")
+  if (length(errors) == 0L) {
+    return(NULL)
+  }
+  for (row in seq(1L, nrow(errors))) {
+    logging_function("JSON Validation ({row} / {nrow(errors)}):")
+    logging_function("  Keyword: {errors[[row, 'keyword']]}")
+    logging_function("  instancePath: {errors[[row, 'instancePath']]}")
+    logging_function("  schemaPath: {errors[[row, 'schemaPath']]}")
+    logging_function("  Message: {errors[[row, 'message']]}")
+  }
+  return(errors)
+}
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-inherit_config.R b/tests/testthat/test-inherit_config.R
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ffa59fb8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-inherit_config.R
@@ -0,0 +1,375 @@
+## save current settings so that we can reset later
+threshold <- logger::log_threshold()
+appender  <- logger::log_appender()
+layout    <- logger::log_layout()
+on.exit({
+  ## reset logger settings
+  logger::log_threshold(threshold)
+  logger::log_layout(layout)
+  logger::log_appender(appender)
+})
+
+logger::log_appender(logger::appender_stdout)
+logger::log_threshold(logger::FATAL)
+logger::log_layout(logger::layout_simple)
+
+test_that("No inheritence", {
+  params <- list(
+    foo = 1L,
+    string = "simple params"
+  )
+  results <- inherit_params(params)
+  expect_identical(results, params)
+})
+
+test_that("Simple inheritence works", {
+  params <- list(
+    foo = 1L,
+    string = "simple params",
+    inherit = "test01"
+  )
+  param_dir <- withr::local_tempdir()
+  writeLines(
+    '{
+      "inherited_key": 2,
+      "some_other_key": "test01",
+      "string": "we should not see this"
+    }',
+    file.path(param_dir, "test01.json")
+  )
+  results <- inherit_params(
+    params = params,
+    inheritence_search_paths = param_dir
+  )
+  expect_identical(
+    object = results,
+    expected = list(
+      inherited_key = 2L,
+      some_other_key = "test01",
+      string = "simple params",
+      foo = 1L
+    )
+  )
+})
+
+test_that("Only inheritence works", {
+  params <- list(
+    inherit = "test01"
+  )
+  param_dir <- withr::local_tempdir()
+  writeLines(
+    '{
+      "inherited_key": 2,
+      "some_other_key": "test01",
+      "string": "we should not see this"
+    }',
+    file.path(param_dir, "test01.json")
+  )
+  results <- inherit_params(
+    params = params,
+    inheritence_search_paths = param_dir
+  )
+  expect_identical(
+    object = results,
+    expected = list(
+      inherited_key = 2L,
+      some_other_key = "test01",
+      string = "we should not see this"
+    )
+  )
+})
+
+test_that("Simple inheritence picks the correct file", {
+  params <- list(
+    foo = 1L,
+    string = "simple params",
+    inherit = "test02"
+  )
+  param_dir <- withr::local_tempdir()
+  writeLines(
+    '{
+      "inherited_key": 2,
+      "some_other_key": "test01",
+      "string": "we should not see this"
+    }',
+    file.path(param_dir, "test01.json")
+  )
+  writeLines(
+    '{
+      "inherited_key": 3,
+      "some_other_key": "test02",
+      "string": "we should not see this either"
+    }',
+    file.path(param_dir, "test02.json")
+  )
+  # Note that we're inheriting from test02.json
+  results <- inherit_params(
+    params = params,
+    inheritence_search_paths = param_dir
+  )
+  expect_identical(
+    object = results,
+    expected = list(
+      inherited_key = 3L,
+      some_other_key = "test02",
+      string = "simple params",
+      foo = 1L
+    )
+  )
+})
+
+test_that("Nested inheritence works", {
+  params <- list(
+    foo = 1L,
+    string = "simple params",
+    inherit = "test01"
+  )
+  param_dir <- withr::local_tempdir()
+  writeLines(
+    '{
+      "inherited_key": 2,
+      "some_other_key": "test01",
+      "string": "we should not see this",
+      "test01": true,
+      "inherit": "test02"
+    }',
+    file.path(param_dir, "test01.json")
+  )
+  writeLines(
+    '{
+      "inherited_key": 3,
+      "some_other_key": "test02",
+      "string": "we should not see this either",
+      "test02": true
+    }',
+    file.path(param_dir, "test02.json")
+  )
+  results <- inherit_params(
+    params = params,
+    inheritence_search_paths = param_dir
+  )
+  expect_identical(
+    object = results,
+    expected = list(
+      inherited_key = 2L,
+      some_other_key = "test01",
+      string = "simple params",
+      test02 = TRUE,
+      test01 = TRUE,
+      foo = 1L
+    )
+  )
+})
+
+test_that("Missing inheritence file throws error", {
+  params <- list(
+    foo = 1L,
+    string = "simple params",
+    inherit = "test01"
+  )
+  param_dir <- withr::local_tempdir()
+  testthat::expect_error(
+    inherit_params(
+      params = params,
+      inheritence_search_paths = param_dir
+    ),
+    regexp = "^Inheritence file not found.$"
+  )
+})
+
+test_that("Multiple inherit keys in params throws error", {
+  params <- list(
+    foo = 1L,
+    string = "simple params",
+    inherit = "test01",
+    inherit = "test02" # nolint: duplicate_argument_linter
+  )
+  param_dir <- withr::local_tempdir()
+  writeLines(
+    '{
+      "inherited_key": 2,
+      "some_other_key": "test01",
+      "string": "we should not see this"
+    }',
+    file.path(param_dir, "test01.json")
+  )
+  writeLines(
+    '{
+      "inherited_key": 3,
+      "some_other_key": "test02",
+      "string": "we should not see this either"
+    }',
+    file.path(param_dir, "test02.json")
+  )
+  testthat::expect_error(
+    inherit_params(
+      params = params,
+      inheritence_search_paths = param_dir
+    ),
+    regexp = "^Multiple inheritence keys found.$"
+  )
+})
+
+test_that("Multiple values in inherit key throws error", {
+  params <- list(
+    foo = 1L,
+    string = "simple params",
+    inherit = c("test01", "test02")
+  )
+  param_dir <- withr::local_tempdir()
+  writeLines(
+    '{
+      "inherited_key": 2,
+      "some_other_key": "test01",
+      "string": "we should not see this"
+    }',
+    file.path(param_dir, "test01.json")
+  )
+  writeLines(
+    '{
+      "inherited_key": 3,
+      "some_other_key": "test02",
+      "string": "we should not see this either"
+    }',
+    file.path(param_dir, "test02.json")
+  )
+  testthat::expect_error(
+    inherit_params(
+      params = params,
+      inheritence_search_paths = param_dir
+    ),
+    regexp = "^Multiple values in inherit key.$"
+  )
+})
+
+test_that("Circular inheritence throws error", {
+  params <- list(
+    foo = 1L,
+    string = "simple params",
+    inherit = "test01"
+  )
+  param_dir <- withr::local_tempdir()
+  writeLines(
+    '{
+      "inherited_key": 2,
+      "some_other_key": "test01",
+      "string": "we should not see this",
+      "inherit": "test02"
+    }',
+    file.path(param_dir, "test01.json")
+  )
+  writeLines(
+    '{
+      "inherited_key": 3,
+      "some_other_key": "test02",
+      "string": "we should not see this either",
+      "inherit": "test01"
+    }',
+    file.path(param_dir, "test02.json")
+  )
+  testthat::expect_error(
+    inherit_params(
+      params = params,
+      inheritence_search_paths = param_dir
+    ),
+    regexp = "^Inheritence loop detected.$"
+  )
+})
+
+test_that("Searching across multiple directories works", {
+  params <- list(
+    foo = 1L,
+    string = "simple params",
+    inherit = "test01"
+  )
+  first_dir <- withr::local_tempdir()
+  writeLines(
+    '{
+      "inherited_key": 2,
+      "dir": "first",
+      "some_other_key": "test01",
+      "string": "we should not see this",
+      "test01": true,
+      "inherit": "test02"
+    }',
+    file.path(first_dir, "test01.json")
+  )
+  second_dir <- withr::local_tempdir()
+  writeLines(
+    '{
+      "inherited_key": 3,
+      "dir": "second",
+      "some_other_key": "test02",
+      "string": "we should not see this either",
+      "test02": true
+    }',
+    file.path(second_dir, "test02.json")
+  )
+  results <- inherit_params(
+    params = params,
+    inheritence_search_paths = c(first_dir, second_dir)
+  )
+  expect_identical(
+    object = results,
+    expected = list(
+      inherited_key = 2L,
+      dir = "first", # inheriting from first_dir/test01.json
+      some_other_key = "test01",
+      string = "simple params",
+      test02 = TRUE,
+      test01 = TRUE,
+      foo = 1L
+    )
+  )
+})
+
+
+test_that("Searching across multiple directories works", {
+  params <- list(
+    foo = 1L,
+    string = "simple params",
+    inherit = "test01"
+  )
+  first_dir <- withr::local_tempdir()
+  writeLines(
+    '{
+      "inherited_key": 2,
+      "dir": "first",
+      "some_other_key": "test01",
+      "string": "we should not see this",
+      "test01": true
+    }',
+    file.path(first_dir, "test01.json")
+  )
+  second_dir <- withr::local_tempdir()
+  writeLines(
+    '{
+      "inherited_key": 3,
+      "dir": "second",
+      "some_other_key": "secret bonus file",
+      "string": "we should not see this either",
+      "test02": true
+    }',
+    file.path(second_dir, "test01.json")
+  )
+  testthat::expect_warning(
+    {
+      results <- inherit_params(
+        params = params,
+        inheritence_search_paths = c(first_dir, second_dir)
+      )
+    },
+    regexp = "^Multiple inheritence files found.$"
+  )
+  expect_identical(
+    object = results,
+    expected = list(
+      inherited_key = 2L,
+      dir = "first", # inheriting from first_dir/test01.json
+      some_other_key = "test01",
+      string = "simple params",
+      test01 = TRUE,
+      foo = 1L
+    )
+  )
+})
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-parse_params.R b/tests/testthat/test-parse_params.R
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..93ac9266
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-parse_params.R
@@ -0,0 +1,208 @@
+## save current settings so that we can reset later
+threshold <- logger::log_threshold()
+appender  <- logger::log_appender()
+layout    <- logger::log_layout()
+on.exit({
+  ## reset logger settings
+  logger::log_threshold(threshold)
+  logger::log_layout(layout)
+  logger::log_appender(appender)
+})
+
+logger::log_appender(logger::appender_stdout)
+logger::log_threshold(logger::FATAL)
+logger::log_layout(logger::layout_simple)
+
+
+test_that("No inheritence, pass as string", {
+  json_string <- '{
+    "id": 1,
+    "name": "A green door",
+    "price": 12.50,
+    "tags": ["home", "green"]
+  }'
+  results <- parse_params(json_string)
+  expect_identical(
+    object = results,
+    expected = list(
+      id = 1L,
+      name = "A green door",
+      price = 12.5,
+      tags = c("home", "green")
+    )
+  )
+})
+
+test_that("No inheritence, pass as file", {
+  json_string <- '{
+    "id": 1,
+    "name": "A green door",
+    "price": 12.50,
+    "tags": ["home", "green"]
+  }'
+  json_file <- withr::local_tempfile(fileext = ".json")
+  writeLines(json_string, json_file)
+  results <- parse_params(json_file)
+  expect_identical(
+    object = results,
+    expected = list(
+      id = 1L,
+      name = "A green door",
+      price = 12.5,
+      tags = c("home", "green")
+    )
+  )
+})
+
+base_params_dir <- withr::local_tempdir()
+base_01_string <- '{
+    "name": "A green door",
+    "tags": ["home", "green"],
+    "supplier": "ACME Doors"
+  }'
+writeLines(
+  base_01_string,
+  file.path(base_params_dir, "base01.json")
+)
+
+test_that("Simple inheritence, pass as string", {
+  json_string <- '{
+    "id": 1,
+    "price": 12.50,
+    "inherit": "base01"
+  }'
+  results <- parse_params(
+    json = json_string,
+    inheritence_search_paths = base_params_dir
+  )
+  expect_identical(
+    object = results,
+    expected = list(
+      name = "A green door",
+      tags = c("home", "green"),
+      supplier = "ACME Doors",
+      id = 1L,
+      price = 12.5
+    )
+  )
+})
+
+test_that("Simple inheritence, pass as file", {
+  json_string <- '{
+    "id": 1,
+    "price": 12.50,
+    "inherit": "base01"
+  }'
+  json_file <- withr::local_tempfile(fileext = ".json")
+  writeLines(json_string, json_file)
+  results <- parse_params(
+    json = json_file,
+    inheritence_search_paths = base_params_dir
+  )
+  expect_identical(
+    object = results,
+    expected = list(
+      name = "A green door",
+      tags = c("home", "green"),
+      supplier = "ACME Doors",
+      id = 1L,
+      price = 12.5
+    )
+  )
+})
+
+product_schema <- '{
+  "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-04/schema#",
+  "title": "Product",
+  "description": "A product from Acme\'s catalog",
+  "type": "object",
+  "properties": {
+    "id": {
+      "description": "The unique identifier for a product",
+      "type": "integer"
+    },
+    "name": {
+      "description": "Name of the product",
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "price": {
+      "type": "number",
+      "minimum": 0,
+      "exclusiveMinimum": true
+    },
+    "tags": {
+      "type": "array",
+      "items": {
+        "type": "string"
+      },
+      "minItems": 1,
+      "uniqueItems": true
+    }
+  },
+  "required": ["id", "name", "price"]
+}'
+schema_dir <- withr::local_tempdir()
+schema_file <- file.path(schema_dir, "product.json")
+writeLines(product_schema, schema_file)
+
+test_that("No inheritence, pass as string, validation works", {
+  json_string <- '{
+    "id": 1,
+    "name": "A green door",
+    "price": 12.50,
+    "tags": ["home", "green"]
+  }'
+  results <- parse_params(
+    json = json_string,
+    schema_file = schema_file
+  )
+  expect_identical(
+    object = results,
+    expected = list(
+      id = 1L,
+      name = "A green door",
+      price = 12.5,
+      tags = c("home", "green")
+    )
+  )
+})
+
+test_that("No inheritence, pass as string, failing validation works", {
+  json_string <- '{
+    "id": 1.5,
+    "price": 12.50,
+    "tags": ["home", "green"]
+  }'
+  testthat::expect_error(
+    object = {
+      parse_params(
+        json = json_string,
+        schema_file = schema_file
+      )
+    },
+    regexp = "^JSON Validation failed.$"
+  )
+})
+
+test_that("simple inheritence, pass as string, validation works", {
+  json_string <- '{
+    "id": 1,
+    "price": 12.50,
+    "inherit": "base01"
+  }'
+  results <- parse_params(
+    json = json_string,
+    inheritence_search_paths = base_params_dir,
+    schema_file = schema_file
+  )
+  expect_identical(
+    object = results,
+    expected = list(
+      name = "A green door",
+      tags = c("home", "green"),
+      supplier = "ACME Doors",
+      id = 1L,
+      price = 12.5
+    )
+  )
+})