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

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 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 organisation, 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, security authorisations, technical and infrastructure constraints

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 customisation, 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 organisations procure, evaluate, and deploy technology

Familiarity with UK 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 UK government security clearance (Top Secret preferred)

Nice to Have:

Active UK government security clearance (Secret or Top Secret) - preference for active Top Secret clearance

Background in or strong familiarity with UK 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 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 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 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.

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