diff --git a/.github/CODEOWNERS b/.github/CODEOWNERS
index fd4ee2cd2bb..7c464fc0cfb 100644
--- a/.github/CODEOWNERS
+++ b/.github/CODEOWNERS
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ gradlew.bat @BenHenning
 *.secret @BenHenning
 
 # CI configuration.
+/.github/actions/ @BenHenning
 /.github/workflows/ @BenHenning
 
 # All tests.
diff --git a/.github/actions/set-up-android-bazel-build-environment/action.yml b/.github/actions/set-up-android-bazel-build-environment/action.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..13cc5623a0d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/actions/set-up-android-bazel-build-environment/action.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,103 @@
+# Contains common operations to set up a hermetic Android + Bazel build environment for Oppia
+# Android CI workflows. Action prerequisites:
+# - JDK 9 must be installed & set as the default version via JAVA_HOME
+# - Bazel must be installed, in the path, and be version 4.0.0
+
+# TODO(#1861): Revert SDK pinning for improved CI performance once Bazel is sufficiently stable that
+# we can rely on the automatic SDK provided by GitHub's CI environment.
+
+name: Build environment setup
+description: Sets up the Android & Bazel build environments for Oppia Android
+runs:
+  using: composite
+  steps:
+    - name: Check Java version & path
+      run: |
+        which java
+        java -version
+        echo "Java home: $JAVA_HOME"
+        $JAVA_HOME/bin/java -version
+
+        # Verify that the correct version of Java is installed.
+        java -version 2>&1 | grep -q -E "1.9|9.0"
+        HAS_CORRECT_JAVA_VERSION=$(echo $?)
+        if [[ "$HAS_CORRECT_JAVA_VERSION" == 1 ]] ; then
+          echo "Expected Java 9 to be installed"
+          exit 1
+        fi
+      shell: bash
+
+    - name: Verify Bazel version
+      run: |
+        bazel --version | grep -q 4.0.0
+        HAS_CORRECT_BAZEL_VERSION=$(echo $?)
+        if [[ "$HAS_CORRECT_JAVA_VERSION" == 1 ]] ; then
+          echo "Expected Bazel 4.0.0 to be installed"
+          exit 1
+        fi
+      shell: bash
+
+    - name: Set up new Android SDK directory
+      run: |
+        mkdir -p $HOME/android-sdk
+      shell: bash
+
+    - name: Download cmdline tools
+      run: |
+        wget https://dl.google.com/android/repository/commandlinetools-linux-7302050_latest.zip
+        cp ./commandlinetools-linux-7302050_latest.zip $HOME/android-sdk
+        cd $HOME/android-sdk
+        unzip commandlinetools-linux-7302050_latest.zip
+        mkdir tools
+        cd cmdline-tools/
+        mv -i * ../tools && mv ../tools .
+        cd ..
+        echo "ANDROID_HOME=$HOME/android-sdk" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+      shell: bash
+
+    - name: Verify updated ANDROID_HOME
+      run: |
+        echo "Using updated Android SDK home: $ANDROID_HOME"
+      shell: bash
+
+    - name: Accept SDK licenses
+      run: |
+        # For some reason, sdkmanager returns an error code when licenses are accepted. Run in a
+        # sub-shell so that the CI workflow doesn't fail.
+        echo $(yes | $ANDROID_HOME/cmdline-tools/tools/bin/sdkmanager --licenses)
+      shell: bash
+
+    - name: Install platform tools
+      run: |
+        $ANDROID_HOME/cmdline-tools/tools/bin/sdkmanager --install "platform-tools"
+      shell: bash
+
+    - name: Install SDK 28
+      run: |
+        $ANDROID_HOME/cmdline-tools/tools/bin/sdkmanager --install "platforms;android-28"
+      shell: bash
+
+    - name: Install build tools 29.0.2
+      run: |
+        $ANDROID_HOME/cmdline-tools/tools/bin/sdkmanager --install "build-tools;29.0.2"
+      shell: bash
+
+    - name: Configure Bazel to use JDK 9 for building
+      run: |
+        echo "build --java_language_version=9" >> $HOME/.bazelrc
+      shell: bash
+
+    - name: Configure Bazel to use specific sandbox tmpfs
+      run: |
+        echo "build --enable_platform_specific_config" >> $HOME/.bazelrc
+        echo "build:linux --sandbox_tmpfs_path=/tmp" >> $HOME/.bazelrc
+      shell: bash
+
+    - name: Set up Oppia Bazel Android Tools
+      run: |
+        mkdir $HOME/opensource
+        cd $HOME/opensource
+        git clone https://github.com/oppia/oppia-bazel-tools
+        echo build --override_repository=android_tools="$(cd "$(dirname "$HOME/opensource/oppia-bazel-tools")"; pwd)/$(basename "$HOME/opensource/oppia-bazel-tools")" >> $HOME/.bazelrc
+        echo build --android_databinding_use_androidx >> $HOME/.bazelrc
+      shell: bash
diff --git a/.github/workflows/build_tests.yml b/.github/workflows/build_tests.yml
index a48569cf3b7..9e653e266bc 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build_tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build_tests.yml
@@ -28,12 +28,13 @@ jobs:
         with:
           java-version: 9
 
-      - name: Check Java version & path
-        run: |
-          which java
-          java -version
-          echo "Java home: $JAVA_HOME"
-          $JAVA_HOME/bin/java -version
+      - name: Set up Bazel
+        uses: abhinavsingh/setup-bazel@v3
+        with:
+          version: 4.0.0
+
+      - name: Set up build environment
+        uses: ./.github/actions/set-up-android-bazel-build-environment
 
       # For reference on this & the later cache actions, see:
       # https://github.com/actions/cache/issues/239#issuecomment-606950711 &
@@ -74,20 +75,6 @@ jobs:
             rm -rf $EXPANDED_BAZEL_CACHE_PATH
           fi
 
-      - name: Set up Bazel
-        uses: abhinavsingh/setup-bazel@v3
-        with:
-          version: 4.0.0
-
-      - name: Configure Bazel to use JDK 9 for building
-        run: |
-          echo "build --java_language_version=9" >> $HOME/.bazelrc
-
-      - name: Configure Bazel to use specific sandbox tmpfs
-        run: |
-          echo "build --enable_platform_specific_config" >> $HOME/.bazelrc
-          echo "build:linux --sandbox_tmpfs_path=/tmp" >> $HOME/.bazelrc
-
       - name: Configure Bazel to use a local cache
         env:
           BAZEL_CACHE_DIR: ${{ env.CACHE_DIRECTORY }}
@@ -100,14 +87,6 @@ jobs:
       - name: Check Bazel environment
         run: bazel info
 
-      - name: Set up Oppia Bazel Android Tools
-        run: |
-          mkdir $HOME/opensource
-          cd $HOME/opensource
-          git clone https://github.com/oppia/oppia-bazel-tools
-          echo build --override_repository=android_tools="$(cd "$(dirname "$HOME/opensource/oppia-bazel-tools")"; pwd)/$(basename "$HOME/opensource/oppia-bazel-tools")" >> $HOME/.bazelrc
-          echo build --android_databinding_use_androidx >> $HOME/.bazelrc
-
       # See https://git-secret.io/installation for details on installing git-secret. Note that the
       # apt-get method isn't used since it's much slower to update & upgrade apt before installation
       # versus just directly cloning & installing the project. Further, the specific version
diff --git a/.github/workflows/unit_tests.yml b/.github/workflows/unit_tests.yml
index 3a26c691371..3813bf8d6f1 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/unit_tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/unit_tests.yml
@@ -72,12 +72,13 @@ jobs:
         with:
           java-version: 9
 
-      - name: Check Java version & path
-        run: |
-          which java
-          java -version
-          echo "Java home: $JAVA_HOME"
-          $JAVA_HOME/bin/java -version
+      - name: Set up Bazel
+        uses: abhinavsingh/setup-bazel@v3
+        with:
+          version: 4.0.0
+
+      - name: Set up build environment
+        uses: ./.github/actions/set-up-android-bazel-build-environment
 
       - name: Compute test caching bucket
         env:
@@ -128,20 +129,6 @@ jobs:
             rm -rf $EXPANDED_BAZEL_CACHE_PATH
           fi
 
-      - name: Set up Bazel
-        uses: abhinavsingh/setup-bazel@v3
-        with:
-          version: 4.0.0
-          
-      - name: Configure Bazel to use JDK 9 for building
-        run: |
-          echo "build --java_language_version=9" >> $HOME/.bazelrc
-
-      - name: Configure Bazel to use specific sandbox tmpfs
-        run: |
-          echo "build --enable_platform_specific_config" >> $HOME/.bazelrc
-          echo "build:linux --sandbox_tmpfs_path=/tmp" >> $HOME/.bazelrc
-
       - name: Configure Bazel to use a local cache
         env:
           BAZEL_CACHE_DIR: ${{ env.CACHE_DIRECTORY }}
@@ -151,17 +138,6 @@ jobs:
           echo "build --disk_cache=$EXPANDED_BAZEL_CACHE_PATH" >> $HOME/.bazelrc
         shell: bash
 
-      - name: Check Bazel environment
-        run: bazel info
-
-      - name: Set up Oppia Bazel Android Tools
-        run: |
-          mkdir $HOME/opensource
-          cd $HOME/opensource
-          git clone https://github.com/oppia/oppia-bazel-tools
-          echo build --override_repository=android_tools="$(cd "$(dirname "$HOME/opensource/oppia-bazel-tools")"; pwd)/$(basename "$HOME/opensource/oppia-bazel-tools")" >> $HOME/.bazelrc
-          echo build --android_databinding_use_androidx >> $HOME/.bazelrc
-
       # See explanation in bazel_build_app for how this is installed.
       - name: Install git-secret (non-fork only)
         if: ${{ env.ENABLE_CACHING == 'true' && ((github.ref == 'refs/heads/develop' && github.event_name == 'push') || (github.event.pull_request.head.repo.full_name == 'oppia/oppia-android')) }}