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

Cohere

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 co-headquartered in Toronto and San Francisco, with key offices in London, New York City, Montreal, Seoul, Germany and Paris. 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 Canadian public sector and defence accounts. This is a highly specialized role requiring an individual who understands technical program delivery, the technical complexity of frontier AI models and the unique requirements of government and defence organizations. You will be the critical bridge between our cutting-edge AI capabilities and the specific needs of Canadian federal departments, provincial agencies, Crown corporations, and defence organizations. 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: Ottawa (preferred) or Montreal or Toronto required (proximity to government customers) Security Clearance: Active Top Secret clearance strongly preferred; candidates 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 Canadian public sector and defence customers, from initial deployment through production scaling - Serve as the primary technical program point of contact for government customers, building trusted relationships with departmental CIOs, IT directors, and technical teams - Translate complex government requirements (security, compliance, accessibility, bilingualism, data sovereignty) into actionable engineering plans - Navigate government procurement processes, RFP responses, and contractual technical obligations. Strategic Communication: - Provide clear, timely, and objective communication across Cohere's engineering organization, customer stakeholders, and government leadership - Translate between AI/ML technical concepts and government-appropriate language for decision-makers who may not have deep technical backgrounds - Present technical roadmaps and status updates to senior government officials and departmental executives - Represent 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 cycles - Identify and manage dependencies across government departments, security authorities, cloud service providers, and internal Cohere teams - Navigate risks unique to government deployments: privacy compliance, Algorithmic Impact Assessments, Treasury Board submissions, security authorizations - Drive 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 standards - Coordinate technical work across multiple teams: model customization, security hardening, integration with government systems, bilingual support - Establish governance checkpoints appropriate for high-stakes government deployments - Problem-solve complex technical challenges in air-gapped, on-premises, or highly regulated environments. You May Be a Good Fit If: Required Experience: - 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 differentiator - Comfortable discussing API integrations, model inference, data pipelines, and ML operations with technical stakeholders. Government & Defence Acumen: - Deep understanding of how government organizations procure, evaluate, and deploy technology - Familiarity with Canadian government requirements: data sovereignty, privacy laws (Privacy Act), accessibility standards, official languages obligations, security classifications - Understanding of defence and national security considerations in AI deployment - Experience with Algorithmic Impact Assessments or AI ethics frameworks is a strong asset - Eligible to obtain Canadian government security clearance (Top Secret preferred) Nice to Have: - Active Canadian government security clearance (Secret or Top Secret) - strong preference for active Top Secret clearance - Bilingual (English/French) proficiency - Background in or strong familiarity with Canadian defence, intelligence, or critical infrastructure sectors - Experience with GC Cloud services (Azure, AWS GovCloud) or Protected B/C environments - Project management certification (PMP, PgMP) or government-specific methodologies. Security Clearance Requirements This role requires eligibility for Canadian government security clearance. Strong preference will be given to candidates who currently hold an active 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 Secret clearance and are eligible for TS upgrade - Do not currently hold clearance, but are eligible and willing to undergo the Top Secret clearance process - Have 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 specialized role at the intersection of frontier AI, national security, and public sector digital transformation. You'll work on some of Canada's most sensitive and impactful AI deployments, helping government organizations 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 Canada leverages AI to serve its citizens, this role is for you. For candidates in Canada, the Compensation Range is: $160,000 – $245,000 [CAD] 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. 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. We have offices in Toronto, San Francisco, New York City, London, Paris, Montreal, and more coming 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 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/12a6IrLdF3kI2nonKSr4tiFuz18rLQbaeYV-JM9L4o9Q/edit, 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 https://cohere.com/careers page.