diff --git a/xee/ext.py b/xee/ext.py
index eb68d4c..9a59fe7 100644
--- a/xee/ext.py
+++ b/xee/ext.py
@@ -102,6 +102,11 @@ class EarthEngineStore(common.AbstractDataStore):
       'height': 256,
   }
 
+  GETITEM_KWARGS: Dict[str, int] = {
+      'max_retries': 6,
+      'initial_delay': 500,
+  }
+
   SCALE_UNITS: Dict[str, int] = {
       'degree': 1,
       'metre': 10_000,
@@ -147,6 +152,7 @@ def open(
       ee_init_kwargs: Optional[Dict[str, Any]] = None,
       ee_init_if_necessary: bool = False,
       executor_kwargs: Optional[Dict[str, Any]] = None,
+      getitem_kwargs: Optional[Dict[str, int]] = None,
   ) -> 'EarthEngineStore':
     if mode != 'r':
       raise ValueError(
@@ -168,6 +174,7 @@ def open(
         ee_init_kwargs=ee_init_kwargs,
         ee_init_if_necessary=ee_init_if_necessary,
         executor_kwargs=executor_kwargs,
+        getitem_kwargs=getitem_kwargs,
     )
 
   def __init__(
@@ -186,6 +193,7 @@ def __init__(
       ee_init_kwargs: Optional[Dict[str, Any]] = None,
       ee_init_if_necessary: bool = False,
       executor_kwargs: Optional[Dict[str, Any]] = None,
+      getitem_kwargs: Optional[Dict[str, int]] = None,
   ):
     self.ee_init_kwargs = ee_init_kwargs
     self.ee_init_if_necessary = ee_init_if_necessary
@@ -195,6 +203,8 @@ def __init__(
       executor_kwargs = {}
     self.executor_kwargs = executor_kwargs
 
+    self.getitem_kwargs = {**self.GETITEM_KWARGS, **(getitem_kwargs or {})}
+
     self.image_collection = image_collection
     if n_images != -1:
       self.image_collection = image_collection.limit(n_images)
@@ -478,7 +488,10 @@ def image_to_array(
         **kwargs,
     }
     raw = common.robust_getitem(
-        pixels_getter, params, catch=ee.ee_exception.EEException
+        pixels_getter,
+        params,
+        catch=ee.ee_exception.EEException,
+        **self.getitem_kwargs,
     )
 
     # Extract out the shape information from EE response.
@@ -960,6 +973,7 @@ def open_dataset(
       ee_init_if_necessary: bool = False,
       ee_init_kwargs: Optional[Dict[str, Any]] = None,
       executor_kwargs: Optional[Dict[str, Any]] = None,
+      getitem_kwargs: Optional[Dict[str, int]] = None,
   ) -> xarray.Dataset:  # type: ignore
     """Open an Earth Engine ImageCollection as an Xarray Dataset.
 
@@ -1032,7 +1046,11 @@ def open_dataset(
       executor_kwargs (optional): A dictionary of keyword arguments to pass to
         the ThreadPoolExecutor that handles the parallel computation of pixels
         i.e. {'max_workers': 2}.
-
+      getitem_kwargs (optional): Exponential backoff kwargs passed into the
+        xarray function to index the array (`robust_getitem`).
+        - 'max_retries', the maximum number of retry attempts. Defaults to 6.
+        - 'initial_delay', the initial delay in milliseconds before the first
+          retry. Defaults to 500.
     Returns:
       An xarray.Dataset that streams in remote data from Earth Engine.
     """
@@ -1062,6 +1080,7 @@ def open_dataset(
         ee_init_kwargs=ee_init_kwargs,
         ee_init_if_necessary=ee_init_if_necessary,
         executor_kwargs=executor_kwargs,
+        getitem_kwargs=getitem_kwargs,
     )
 
     store_entrypoint = backends_store.StoreBackendEntrypoint()
diff --git a/xee/ext_integration_test.py b/xee/ext_integration_test.py
index 35cb340..880c3e6 100644
--- a/xee/ext_integration_test.py
+++ b/xee/ext_integration_test.py
@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@ def setUp(self):
             '2017-01-01', '2017-01-03'
         ),
         n_images=64,
+        getitem_kwargs={'max_retries': 10, 'initial_delay': 1500},
     )
     self.store_with_neg_mask_value = xee.EarthEngineStore(
         ee.ImageCollection('LANDSAT/LC08/C01/T1').filterDate(
@@ -87,6 +88,7 @@ def setUp(self):
             '2020-03-30', '2020-04-01'
         ),
         n_images=64,
+        getitem_kwargs={'max_retries': 9},
     )
     self.all_img_store = xee.EarthEngineStore(
         ee.ImageCollection('LANDSAT/LC08/C01/T1').filterDate(
@@ -267,6 +269,19 @@ def __getitem__(self, params):
 
     self.assertEqual(getter.count, 3)
 
+  def test_getitem_kwargs(self):
+    arr = xee.EarthEngineBackendArray('B4', self.store)
+    self.assertEqual(arr.store.getitem_kwargs['initial_delay'], 1500)
+    self.assertEqual(arr.store.getitem_kwargs['max_retries'], 10)
+
+    arr1 = xee.EarthEngineBackendArray('longitude', self.lnglat_store)
+    self.assertEqual(arr1.store.getitem_kwargs['initial_delay'], 500)
+    self.assertEqual(arr1.store.getitem_kwargs['max_retries'], 6)
+
+    arr2 = xee.EarthEngineBackendArray('spi2y', self.conus_store)
+    self.assertEqual(arr2.store.getitem_kwargs['initial_delay'], 500)
+    self.assertEqual(arr2.store.getitem_kwargs['max_retries'], 9)
+
 
 class EEBackendEntrypointTest(absltest.TestCase):