Devices and techniques for programmable atomic operator resource locking are described herein. A request for a programmable atomic operator (PAO) can be received at a memory controller that includes a programmable atomic unit (PAU). Here, the request includes an identifier for the PAO and a memory address. The memory addressed is processed to identify a lock value. A verification can be performed to determine that the lock value indicates that there is no lock corresponding to the memory address. Then, the lock value is set to indicate that there is now a lock corresponding to the memory address and the PAO is invoked based on the identifier for the PAO. In response to completion of the PAO, the lock value is set to indicate that there is no longer a lock corresponding to the memory address.