diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index dbb9a2e2ad..f1d5c446ec 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 *~
 *.sw[mnpcod]
 *.log
+*.lock
 *.tmp
 *.tmp.*
 log.txt
diff --git a/scripts/gulp/util.ts b/scripts/gulp/util.ts
index 118334ccd2..0e18b2a5bf 100644
--- a/scripts/gulp/util.ts
+++ b/scripts/gulp/util.ts
@@ -11,6 +11,9 @@ import * as through from 'through2';
 import * as uglifyPlugin from 'rollup-plugin-uglify';
 import { argv } from 'yargs';
 
+// These packages lack of types.
+const resolveBin = require('resolve-bin');
+
 export function mergeObjects(obj1: any, obj2: any ) {
   if (! obj1) {
     obj1 = {};
@@ -140,7 +143,8 @@ export function copyFile(srcPath: string, destPath: string) {
 
 export function runNgc(pathToConfigFile: string, done: Function) {
   let exec = require('child_process').exec;
-  var shellCommand = `node --max_old_space_size=8096 ${PROJECT_ROOT}/node_modules/.bin/ngc -p ${pathToConfigFile}`;
+  let ngcPath = getBinaryPath('@angular/compiler-cli', 'ngc');
+  let shellCommand = `node --max_old_space_size=8096 ${ngcPath} -p ${pathToConfigFile}`;
 
   exec(shellCommand, function(err, stdout, stderr) {
     console.log(stdout);
@@ -151,7 +155,8 @@ export function runNgc(pathToConfigFile: string, done: Function) {
 
 export function runTsc(pathToConfigFile: string, done: Function) {
   let exec = require('child_process').exec;
-  var shellCommand = `node --max_old_space_size=8096 ${PROJECT_ROOT}/node_modules/.bin/tsc -p ${pathToConfigFile}`;
+  let tscPath = getBinaryPath('typescript', 'tsc');
+  let shellCommand = `node --max_old_space_size=8096 ${tscPath} -p ${pathToConfigFile}`;
 
   exec(shellCommand, function(err, stdout, stderr) {
     console.log(stdout);
@@ -162,7 +167,8 @@ export function runTsc(pathToConfigFile: string, done: Function) {
 
 export function runWebpack(pathToWebpackConfig: string, done: Function) {
   let exec = require('child_process').exec;
-  let shellCommand = `node --max_old_space_size=8096 ./node_modules/.bin/webpack --config ${pathToWebpackConfig} --display-error-details`;
+  let webpackPath = getBinaryPath('webpack');
+  let shellCommand = `node --max_old_space_size=8096 ${webpackPath} --config ${pathToWebpackConfig} --display-error-details`;
 
   exec(shellCommand, function(err, stdout, stderr) {
     console.log(stdout);
@@ -171,6 +177,11 @@ export function runWebpack(pathToWebpackConfig: string, done: Function) {
   });
 }
 
+/** Resolves the path for a node package executable. */
+export function getBinaryPath(packageName: string, executable = packageName): string {
+  return resolveBin.sync(packageName, {executable});
+}
+
 export function deleteFiles(glob: string[], done: Function) {
   let del = require('del');
   del.sync(glob);
@@ -276,4 +287,4 @@ export function getFolderInfo() {
     componentName: componentName,
     componentTest: componentTest
   };
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}