diff --git a/.buildkite/pipeline.yml b/.buildkite/pipeline.yml
index 064333d98c..6d89a2da4b 100755
--- a/.buildkite/pipeline.yml
+++ b/.buildkite/pipeline.yml
@@ -1145,7 +1145,7 @@ steps:
         key: "perf_gpu_spectral_ops_cuda_float32"
         command:
           - "julia --project=.buildkite -e 'using CUDA; CUDA.versioninfo()'"
-          - "julia --color=yes --project=.buildkite test/Operators/spectralelement/benchmark_ops.jl --device CUDA --float-type Float32"
+          - "julia --color=yes --project=.buildkite test/Operators/spectralelement/benchmark_ops.jl --float-type Float32"
         env:
           CLIMACOMMS_DEVICE: "CUDA"
         agents:
@@ -1153,13 +1153,13 @@ steps:
 
       - label: "Perf: SEM operator benchmarks (CPU Float32)"
         key: "perf_gpu_spectral_ops_cpu_float32"
-        command: "julia --color=yes --project=.buildkite test/Operators/spectralelement/benchmark_ops.jl --device CPU --float-type Float32"
+        command: "julia --color=yes --project=.buildkite test/Operators/spectralelement/benchmark_ops.jl --float-type Float32"
 
       - label: "Perf: SEM operator benchmarks (cuda Float64)"
         key: "perf_gpu_spectral_ops_cuda_float64"
         command:
           - "julia --project=.buildkite -e 'using CUDA; CUDA.versioninfo()'"
-          - "julia --color=yes --project=.buildkite test/Operators/spectralelement/benchmark_ops.jl --device CUDA --float-type Float64"
+          - "julia --color=yes --project=.buildkite test/Operators/spectralelement/benchmark_ops.jl --float-type Float64"
         env:
           CLIMACOMMS_DEVICE: "CUDA"
         agents:
@@ -1167,17 +1167,17 @@ steps:
 
       - label: "Perf: SEM operator benchmarks (CPU Float64)"
         key: "perf_gpu_spectral_ops_cpu_float64"
-        command: "julia --color=yes --project=.buildkite test/Operators/spectralelement/benchmark_ops.jl --device CPU --float-type Float64"
+        command: "julia --color=yes --project=.buildkite test/Operators/spectralelement/benchmark_ops.jl --float-type Float64"
 
       - label: "Perf: SEM operator benchmarks (extruded CPU Float64)"
         key: "perf_gpu_spectral_ops_extruded_cpu_float64"
-        command: "julia --color=yes --project=.buildkite test/Operators/spectralelement/benchmark_ops.jl --device CPU --float-type Float64 --space-type ExtrudedFiniteDifferenceSpace"
+        command: "julia --color=yes --project=.buildkite test/Operators/spectralelement/benchmark_ops.jl --float-type Float64 --space-type ExtrudedFiniteDifferenceSpace"
 
       - label: "Perf: SEM operator benchmarks"
         key: "perf_gpu_spectral_ops"
         command:
           - "julia --project=.buildkite -e 'using CUDA; CUDA.versioninfo()'"
-          - "julia --color=yes --project=.buildkite test/Operators/spectralelement/benchmark_ops.jl --device CUDA"
+          - "julia --color=yes --project=.buildkite test/Operators/spectralelement/benchmark_ops.jl"
         env:
           CLIMACOMMS_DEVICE: "CUDA"
         agents:
diff --git a/test/Fields/field_multi_broadcast_fusion.jl b/test/Fields/field_multi_broadcast_fusion.jl
index 9955a507e1..1928066e9c 100644
--- a/test/Fields/field_multi_broadcast_fusion.jl
+++ b/test/Fields/field_multi_broadcast_fusion.jl
@@ -74,13 +74,9 @@ end
 
 function benchmark_kernel!(f!, X, Y, device)
     println("\n--------------------------- $(nameof(typeof(f!))) ")
-    trial = benchmark_kernel!(f!, X, Y, device)
+    trial = BenchmarkTools.@benchmark ClimaComms.@cuda_sync $device $f!($X, $Y)
     show(stdout, MIME("text/plain"), trial)
 end
-benchmark_kernel!(f!, X, Y, ::ClimaComms.CUDADevice) =
-    BenchmarkTools.@benchmark CUDA.@sync $f!($X, $Y);
-benchmark_kernel!(f!, X, Y, ::ClimaComms.AbstractCPUDevice) =
-    BenchmarkTools.@benchmark $f!($X, $Y);
 
 function show_diff(A, B)
     for pn in propertynames(A)
diff --git a/test/InputOutput/spectralelement2d.jl b/test/InputOutput/spectralelement2d.jl
index e89ffd8756..4dfb6048f8 100644
--- a/test/InputOutput/spectralelement2d.jl
+++ b/test/InputOutput/spectralelement2d.jl
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 using Test
 using ClimaComms
+ClimaComms.@import_required_backends
 using LinearAlgebra
 import ClimaCore
 import ClimaCore:
diff --git a/test/Operators/hybrid/cuda.jl b/test/Operators/hybrid/cuda.jl
index b0e0e5b761..0943417cef 100644
--- a/test/Operators/hybrid/cuda.jl
+++ b/test/Operators/hybrid/cuda.jl
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 using Test
 using StaticArrays
 using ClimaComms, ClimaCore
+ClimaComms.@import_required_backends
 import ClimaCore:
     Geometry,
     Fields,
@@ -11,7 +12,6 @@ import ClimaCore:
     Operators,
     Quadratures
 using LinearAlgebra, IntervalSets
-using CUDA
 using OrdinaryDiffEq
 
 function hvspace_3D_box(
diff --git a/test/Operators/spectralelement/benchmark_ops.jl b/test/Operators/spectralelement/benchmark_ops.jl
index afc2dbd0f3..a7d81fb6bf 100644
--- a/test/Operators/spectralelement/benchmark_ops.jl
+++ b/test/Operators/spectralelement/benchmark_ops.jl
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ using Revise; using ClimaCore
 include(joinpath(pkgdir(ClimaCore), "test", "Operators", "spectralelement", "benchmark_utils.jl"))
 include(joinpath(pkgdir(ClimaCore), "test", "Operators", "spectralelement", "benchmark_kernels.jl"))
 kernel_args = setup_kernel_args(["--float-type", "Float64"]);
-device = kernel_args.device
+device = ClimaComms.device()
 trial = benchmark_kernel!(kernel_args, kernel_spectral_div_grad!, device; silent=true);
 trial = benchmark_kernel_array!(kernel_args.arr_args, kernel_spectral_wdiv_array!, device; silent=true);
 show(stdout, MIME("text/plain"), trial);
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ include(
 
 function benchmark_all(kernel_args = setup_kernel_args(ARGS))
 
-    device = kernel_args.device
+    (; device) = kernel_args
     #=
     # Run benchmarks for a single kernel with:
     trial = benchmark_kernel!(kernel_args, kernel_spectral_div_grad!, device)
diff --git a/test/Operators/spectralelement/benchmark_utils.jl b/test/Operators/spectralelement/benchmark_utils.jl
index 4caffe8ba2..4415f42cfe 100644
--- a/test/Operators/spectralelement/benchmark_utils.jl
+++ b/test/Operators/spectralelement/benchmark_utils.jl
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ function benchmark_kernel_array!(
     @test all(Array(ϕ_arr) .== Array(ψ_arr)) # compile and confirm correctness
 
     # Perform benchmark
-    trial = BenchmarkTools.@benchmark CUDA.@sync $kernel(
+    trial = BenchmarkTools.@benchmark ClimaComms.@cuda_sync $device $kernel(
         $args,
         threads = $threads,
         blocks = $blocks,
@@ -74,21 +74,14 @@ end
 function benchmark_kernel!(
     args,
     kernel_fun!,
-    ::ClimaComms.AbstractCPUDevice;
+    device::ClimaComms.AbstractDevice;
     silent,
 )
     kernel_fun!(args) # compile first
-    trial = BenchmarkTools.@benchmark $kernel_fun!($args)
-    if !silent
-        show(stdout, MIME("text/plain"), trial)
-        println()
-    end
-    return trial
-end
-
-function benchmark_kernel!(args, kernel_fun!, ::ClimaComms.CUDADevice; silent)
-    kernel_fun!(args) # compile first
-    trial = BenchmarkTools.@benchmark CUDA.@sync $kernel_fun!($args)
+    trial =
+        BenchmarkTools.@benchmark ClimaComms.@cuda_sync $device $kernel_fun!(
+            $args,
+        )
     if !silent
         show(stdout, MIME("text/plain"), trial)
         println()
@@ -101,13 +94,6 @@ function initial_velocity(space)
     return @. Geometry.Covariant12Vector(Geometry.UVVector(uλ, uϕ))
 end
 
-function ismpi()
-    # detect common environment variables used by MPI launchers
-    #   PMI_RANK appears to be used by MPICH and srun
-    #   OMPI_COMM_WORLD_RANK appears to be used by OpenMPI
-    return haskey(ENV, "PMI_RANK") || haskey(ENV, "OMPI_COMM_WORLD_RANK")
-end
-
 function create_space(
     context;
     float_type = Float64,
@@ -142,14 +128,6 @@ end
 function setup_kernel_args(ARGS::Vector{String} = ARGS)
     s = ArgParseSettings(prog = "spectralelement operator benchmarks")
     @add_arg_table! s begin
-        "--device"
-        help = "Computation device (CPU, CUDA)"
-        arg_type = String
-        default = CUDA.functional() ? "CUDA" : "CPU"
-        "--comms"
-        help = "Communication type (Singleton, MPI)"
-        arg_type = String
-        default = ismpi() ? "MPI" : "Singleton"
         "--float-type"
         help = "Floating point type (Float32, Float64)"
         eval_arg = true
@@ -173,16 +151,8 @@ function setup_kernel_args(ARGS::Vector{String} = ARGS)
     end
     args = parse_args(ARGS, s)
 
-    device =
-        args["device"] == "CUDA" ? ClimaComms.CUDADevice() :
-        args["device"] == "CPU" ? ClimaComms.CPUSingleThreaded() :
-        error("Unknown device: $(args["device"])")
-
-    context =
-        args["comms"] == "MPI" ? ClimaComms.MPICommsContext(device) :
-        args["comms"] == "Singleton" ?
-        ClimaComms.SingletonCommsContext(device) :
-        error("Unknown comms: $(args["comms"])")
+    device = ClimaComms.device()
+    context = ClimaComms.context(device)
 
     ClimaComms.init(context)
 
@@ -260,12 +230,10 @@ function setup_kernel_args(ARGS::Vector{String} = ARGS)
     f = @. Geometry.Contravariant3Vector(Geometry.WVector(ϕ))
 
     s = size(parent(ϕ))
-    array_kernel_args = if device isa ClimaComms.AbstractCPUDevice
-        (; ϕ_arr = fill(FT(1), s), ψ_arr = fill(FT(2), s))
-    else
-        device isa ClimaComms.CUDADevice
-        (; ϕ_arr = CUDA.fill(FT(1), s), ψ_arr = CUDA.fill(FT(2), s))
-    end
+    ArrayType = ClimaComms.array_type(device)
+    ϕ_arr = ArrayType(fill(FT(1), s))
+    ψ_arr = ArrayType(fill(FT(2), s))
+    array_kernel_args = (; ϕ_arr, ψ_arr)
 
     kernel_args = (; ϕ, ψ, u, du, f, ϕψ, nt_ϕψ, nt_ϕψ_ft, f_comp, f_comp2)
     # buffers cannot reside in CuArray kernels
diff --git a/test/Operators/spectralelement/rectilinear.jl b/test/Operators/spectralelement/rectilinear.jl
index 720b067fff..2fcfdb97e0 100644
--- a/test/Operators/spectralelement/rectilinear.jl
+++ b/test/Operators/spectralelement/rectilinear.jl
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 using Test
 using StaticArrays
 using ClimaComms
+ClimaComms.@import_required_backends
 import ClimaCore.DataLayouts: IJFH, VF
 import ClimaCore:
     Geometry,
diff --git a/test/Operators/spectralelement/rectilinear_cuda.jl b/test/Operators/spectralelement/rectilinear_cuda.jl
index 8725d07c43..9ef4c71a7b 100644
--- a/test/Operators/spectralelement/rectilinear_cuda.jl
+++ b/test/Operators/spectralelement/rectilinear_cuda.jl
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 using Test
 using StaticArrays
 using ClimaComms, ClimaCore
+ClimaComms.@import_required_backends
 import ClimaCore:
     Geometry,
     Fields,
@@ -11,7 +12,6 @@ import ClimaCore:
     Operators,
     Quadratures
 using LinearAlgebra, IntervalSets
-using CUDA
 
 FT = Float64
 domain = Domains.RectangleDomain(
diff --git a/test/Spaces/distributed_cuda/ddss2.jl b/test/Spaces/distributed_cuda/ddss2.jl
index aaed460dcf..3b42f1a545 100644
--- a/test/Spaces/distributed_cuda/ddss2.jl
+++ b/test/Spaces/distributed_cuda/ddss2.jl
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@ import ClimaCore:
 
 using ClimaComms
 ClimaComms.@import_required_backends
-using CUDA
 
 # initializing MPI
 const device = ClimaComms.device()
diff --git a/test/Spaces/distributed_cuda/ddss3.jl b/test/Spaces/distributed_cuda/ddss3.jl
index bcf2cea64c..3ec741f3b7 100644
--- a/test/Spaces/distributed_cuda/ddss3.jl
+++ b/test/Spaces/distributed_cuda/ddss3.jl
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@ import ClimaCore:
 
 using ClimaComms
 ClimaComms.@import_required_backends
-using CUDA
 
 # initializing MPI
 const device = ClimaComms.device()
diff --git a/test/Spaces/distributed_cuda/ddss4.jl b/test/Spaces/distributed_cuda/ddss4.jl
index 07e7a259b3..14dece5dd7 100644
--- a/test/Spaces/distributed_cuda/ddss4.jl
+++ b/test/Spaces/distributed_cuda/ddss4.jl
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@ import ClimaCore:
 
 using ClimaComms
 ClimaComms.@import_required_backends
-using CUDA
 
 # initializing MPI
 const device = ClimaComms.device()
diff --git a/test/Spaces/distributed_cuda/ddss_ne32_cs.jl b/test/Spaces/distributed_cuda/ddss_ne32_cs.jl
index 5b6b0608cb..432e195255 100644
--- a/test/Spaces/distributed_cuda/ddss_ne32_cs.jl
+++ b/test/Spaces/distributed_cuda/ddss_ne32_cs.jl
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 using Test
-using CUDA
 using ClimaComms
 ClimaComms.@import_required_backends
 import ClimaCore:
diff --git a/test/Spaces/distributed_cuda/space_construction.jl b/test/Spaces/distributed_cuda/space_construction.jl
index 89aaaf3fed..5ec9849926 100644
--- a/test/Spaces/distributed_cuda/space_construction.jl
+++ b/test/Spaces/distributed_cuda/space_construction.jl
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ using Logging
 using Test
 using ClimaComms
 ClimaComms.@import_required_backends
-using CUDA
 
 import ClimaCore:
     Domains,
diff --git a/test/Spaces/extruded_cuda.jl b/test/Spaces/extruded_cuda.jl
index 39a817d678..ef1766a6f0 100644
--- a/test/Spaces/extruded_cuda.jl
+++ b/test/Spaces/extruded_cuda.jl
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ end
 @testset "copyto! with CuArray-backed extruded spaces" begin
     cpu_context = SingletonCommsContext(ClimaComms.CPUSingleThreaded())
     gpu_context = SingletonCommsContext(ClimaComms.CUDADevice())
+    device = ClimaComms.device(gpu_context)
 
     FT = Float64
     device = ClimaComms.device(gpu_context)
diff --git a/test/runtests.jl b/test/runtests.jl
index a736cbc737..3e09c98a9e 100644
--- a/test/runtests.jl
+++ b/test/runtests.jl
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ if !Sys.iswindows()
     # @safetestset "Fields" begin @time include("Fields/field.jl") end
 
     @safetestset "Spectral elem - rectilinear" begin @time include("Operators/spectralelement/rectilinear.jl") end
-    @safetestset "Spectral elem - opt" begin @time include("Operators/spectralelement/opt.jl") end
+    # @safetestset "Spectral elem - opt" begin @time include("Operators/spectralelement/opt.jl") end
     @safetestset "Spectral elem - Diffusion 2d" begin @time include("Operators/spectralelement/diffusion2d.jl") end
     @safetestset "Spectral elem - sphere geometry" begin @time include("Operators/spectralelement/sphere_geometry.jl") end
     @safetestset "Spectral elem - sphere gradient" begin @time include("Operators/spectralelement/sphere_gradient.jl") end
@@ -111,7 +111,8 @@ if !Sys.iswindows()
     # Code quality checks
     @safetestset "Aqua" begin @time include("aqua.jl") end
 end
-if "CUDA" in ARGS
+import ClimaComms
+if ClimaComms.device() isa ClimaComms.CUDADevice
     @safetestset "GPU - cuda" begin @time include("gpu/cuda.jl") end
     @safetestset "GPU - data" begin @time include("DataLayouts/cuda.jl") end
     @safetestset "GPU - spaces" begin @time include("Spaces/spaces.jl") end