Cohere is the leading AI platform for enterprise. Our world-class AI is uniquely suited to the needs of business, unlocking unprecedented ease-of-use, accessibility, and data privacy. Cohere’s platform is cloud-agnostic, accessible through API as a managed service, and can be deployed on virtual private cloud (VPC) or even on-site to meet companies where their data is, offering the highest levels of flexibility and control. 

Founded by Google Brain alumni and a co-author of the seminal Transformer research paper, Cohere is on a mission to transform enterprises and their products with AI that unlocks a more intuitive way to generate, search, and summarize information than ever before. We are backed by group of global institutional and strategic investors including Index Ventures, Oracle, NVIDIA, Salesforce Ventures, Inovia Capital, DTCP, Mirae Asset, Radical Ventures, Section 32, and Tiger Global, as well as several AI luminaries, including Geoffrey Hinton, Jeff Dean, Fei-Fei Li, Pieter Abbeel, and Raquel Urtasun. 

Cohere

The leading Enterprise AI platform that speaks the language of business.

Who are we?

Cohere is the leading security-first enterprise AI company. We build cutting-edge foundation AI models and end-to-end products that are designed to solve real-world business problems.

We’re training and deploying frontier models for enterprises who are building AI systems. We believe that our work is instrumental to the widespread adoption of AI and we are looking for folks that want to be part of that.

We obsess over what we build. Each one of us is responsible for contributing to increasing the capabilities of our models and the value they drive for our customers. Cohere is a team of researchers, engineers, designers, and more, who are all passionate about their craft.

We are a global technology company headquartered in Toronto with key offices in London, New York City, San Francisco, Montreal, Paris, Berlin and Seoul. Join us!

Why This Role?

We're seeking an experienced Program Manager to join Cohere's customer-facing Program Management team, with a focus on UK public sector and defence accounts. This is a highly specialised role requiring an individual who understands technical program delivery, the technical complexity of frontier AI models and the unique requirements of government and defence organisations.

You will be the critical bridge between our cutting-edge AI capabilities and the specific needs of UK Government and defence organisations. You'll navigate complex procurement processes, stringent security requirements, data sovereignty concerns, and regulatory compliance while ensuring our customers successfully deploy and scale our AI solutions.

In this role, you'll collaborate with our Strategic Customer team, Applied ML (AML) Engineering, Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE), Platform, Product, and Go-to-Market teams, serving as the technical program lead and trusted advisor for our most sensitive and high-impact government engagements.

Location: UK

Security Clearance: Active Top Secret clearance preferred; candidates with Active Secret clearance or those who are eligible and willing to obtain clearance will also be considered.

What You'll Do

Customer Program Leadership:

Own end-to-end technical program delivery for UK public sector and defence customers, from initial deployment through production scalingServe as the primary technical program point of contact for government customers, building trusted relationships with departmental CIOs, IT directors, and technical teamsTranslate complex government requirements (security, compliance, accessibility, bilingualism, data sovereignty) into actionable engineering plansNavigate government procurement processes, RFP responses, and contractual technical obligations.

Strategic Communication

Provide clear, timely, and objective communication across Cohere's engineering organisation, customer stakeholders, and government leadershipTranslate between AI/ML technical concepts and government-appropriate language for decision-makers who may not have deep technical backgroundsPresent technical roadmaps and status updates to senior government officials and departmental executivesRepresent Cohere's technical capabilities in sensitive government and defence contexts.

Complex Program Management

Create and manage project schedules that account for government timelines, security review processes, and ministerial approval cyclesIdentify and manage dependencies across government departments, security authorities, cloud service providers, and internal Cohere teamsNavigate risks unique to government deployments: privacy compliance, security authorisations, technical and infrastructure constraintsDrive alignment between product development priorities and specific government requirements.

Technical Delivery & Execution

Ensure on-time delivery of AI solutions that meet government-grade security, privacy, accessibility, and performance standardsCoordinate technical work across multiple teams: model customisation, security hardening, integration with government systems, bilingual supportEstablish governance checkpoints appropriate for high-stakes government deploymentsProblem-solve complex technical challenges in air-gapped, on-premises, or highly regulated environments.

Required Experience

You May Be a Good Fit If:

6+ years of experience as a customer-facing Technical or Engineering Program Manager in AI/ML consulting, technology transformation, or enterprise software delivery.Excellent executive communication and stakeholder management.Experience working with government, defence, or heavily regulated customers (public sector, defence contractors).Proven track record managing complex, multi-stakeholder technical programs with stringent compliance requirements.Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field; advanced degree or technical certs a plus.

Technical Background

Strong understanding of enterprise software deployment architectures (cloud, on-premises, hybrid, air-gapped)Working knowledge of or experience with modern AI: LLMs, agentic systems, MCP, RAG, fine-tuning, evals, and responsible AI would be a strong differentiatorComfortable discussing API integrations, model inference, data pipelines, and ML operations with technical stakeholders.

Government & Defence Acumen

Deep understanding of how government organisations procure, evaluate, and deploy technologyFamiliarity with UK government requirements: data sovereignty, privacy laws (Privacy Act), accessibility standards, official languages obligations, security classificationsUnderstanding of defence and national security considerations in AI deploymentExperience with Algorithmic Impact Assessments or AI ethics frameworks is a strong assetEligible to obtain UK government security clearance (Top Secret preferred)

Nice To Have

Active UK government security clearance (Secret or Top Secret) - preference for active Top Secret clearanceBackground in or strong familiarity with UK defence, intelligence, or critical infrastructure sectorsExperience with GC Cloud services (Azure, AWS GovCloud) or Protected B/C environmentsProject management certification (PMP, PgMP) or government-specific methodologies.

Security Clearance Requirements

This role requires eligibility for UK government security clearance.

Preference will be given to candidates who currently hold an active UK government Top Secret (TS) clearance, as this will enable immediate engagement with our most sensitive defence and national security customers.

However, We Will Also Consider Exceptional Candidates Who

Currently hold UK government Secret clearance and are eligible for TS upgradeDo not currently hold clearance, but are eligible and willing to undergo the Top Secret clearance processHave a previous government security clearance that has lapsed

Please note that obtaining Top Secret clearance can take 12-18 months. Candidates without active clearance will work on non-classified public sector accounts while the clearance process is underway.

What Makes This Role Unique

This isn't typical program management—it's a highly specialised role at the intersection of frontier AI, national security, and public sector digital transformation. You'll work on some of the UK’s most sensitive and impactful AI deployments, helping government organisations harness cutting-edge technology while maintaining the highest standards of security, ethics, and accountability.

If you're passionate about responsible AI adoption, understand the unique constraints and opportunities within government, and want to have an outsized impact on how the UK leverages AI to serve its citizens, this role is for you.

Full-Time Employees At Cohere Enjoy These Perks

A weekly lunch stipend of $75/£75 or equivalent in your local currency for lunch.Full health and dental benefits, including a separate budget for mental health.RRSP matching, 401K, Pension Scheme.100% Parental Leave top-up for up to 6 months, for either parent.Annual enrichment benefits:

Arts & culture, fitness/wellness, quality time, and a workspace improvement credit.

Education & learning stipend for conferences, courses, and coaching.

6 weeks of paid vacation (30 working days!)Budget for traveling to other offices if you are remote, plus an annual company offsite.

How And Where We Work

Cohere is remote-friendly, but we also have offices in Toronto, London, New York City, San Francisco, Montreal, Paris, Berlin and Seoul with more opening soon.For those in the office: a daily lunch program, plenty of snacks, and regular community and social events.For those not near an office: a co-working benefit so you can work alongside others in your city.Everyone receives a $500 home office stipend to set up your workspace properly.

If any of the above doesn’t line up exactly with your experience, we still encourage you to apply.

We strive to create an inclusive work environment for all; we welcome applicants from all backgrounds and are committed to providing equal opportunities. Should you require any accommodations during the recruitment process, please submit an Accommodations Request Form, and we will work together to meet your needs.

We may use AI-enabled tools to screen and assess applicants against the criteria for this position. This helps our recruiters identify potentially qualified candidates, but it doesn't limit the applications our recruiters may review or consider.

Beware of Scams: Cohere will never ask for payment or third-party services (e.g., CV writing) as part of our hiring process. All legitimate roles are listed on the Cohere careers page and LinkedIn only, with all communications from Cohere employees coming from an @cohere.com or @cw.cohere email alias. If jobs are viewed on other sites then please verify these through our official careers page.

Technical Program Manager, AI Delivery for Public Sector & Defence, UK

What the job involves