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

Cohere; Ottawa; On-site; CAD 160,000 - 245,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Weekly lunch stipend

Full health and dental benefits

RRSP matching / Pension program

Parental leave top-up (6 months)

Education and learning stipend

6 weeks paid vacation

Travel budget to other offices

Job summary

Cohere is seeking an experienced Program Manager to lead customer-facing technical programs for Canadian public-sector and defence accounts. You will bridge Cohere’s AI capabilities with government needs, handling procurement, security reviews, data sovereignty, and compliance to deliver scalable solutions.

The role requires deep expertise in program delivery and security, with proximity to government customers in Ottawa, Montreal or Toronto. Top Secret clearance strongly preferred.

Qualifications

• 6+ years in customer-facing technical or engineering program management in AI/ML consulting or enterprise delivery.
• Excellent executive communication and stakeholder management.
• Experience with government, defence or highly regulated customers.
• Proven track record managing complex multi-stakeholder programs with compliance.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end technical program delivery for Canadian public-sector and defence customers.
• Serve as primary technical program contact for government customers and translate requirements into engineering plans.
• Navigate procurement, RFP responses, and contractual obligations.
• Coordinate multi-team efforts across security, data, and product groups to ensure on-time delivery.

Skills

Customer-facing Program Management

AI/ML knowledge

Executive communication

Government/defence experience

Education

Bachelor's degree in a relevant field

Advanced degree or certifications (plus)

Job description

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 solve real‑world business problems. We train and deploy frontier models for enterprises building AI systems, believing our work is instrumental to AI adoption. Our team of researchers, engineers, designers and more are passionate about building and improving our technology.

Why This Role?

We’re seeking an experienced Program Manager for our customer‑facing Program Management team, focused on Canadian public‑sector and defence accounts. This role requires deep expertise in technical program delivery, advanced AI model complexity, and the unique requirements of government and defence organisations.

You will be the critical bridge between Cohere’s AI capabilities and the needs of Canadian federal departments, provincial agencies, Crown corporations, and defence organisations. You’ll navigate procurement, security, data sovereignty, and compliance while ensuring customers successfully deploy and scale our solutions.

In this role you’ll collaborate with the Strategic Customer team, Applied ML Engineering, Forward Deployed Engineering, Platform, Product, and Go‑to‑Market teams as the technical program lead and trusted advisor for 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.
• Serve as the primary technical program point of contact for government customers.
• Translate complex government requirements into actionable engineering plans.
• Navigate procurement, RFP responses, and contractual obligations.

Strategic Communication

• Provide clear, timely communication across engineering, customer stakeholders, and government leadership.
• Translate AI/ML concepts into language suitable for decision makers.
• Present technical roadmaps and status updates to senior officials.
• Represent Cohere’s technical capabilities in sensitive contexts.

Complex Program Management

• Create and manage project schedules that account for government timelines and security reviews.
• Identify and manage dependencies across departments, security authorities, cloud providers, and internal teams.
• Navigate risks such as privacy compliance, Algorithmic Impact Assessments, Treasury Board submissions, and security authorizations.
• Drive alignment between product priorities and government requirements.

Technical Delivery & Execution

• Ensure on‑time delivery that meets government‑grade security and performance standards.
• Coordinate multi‑team work: model customization, security hardening, integration, bilingual support.
• Establish governance checkpoints for high‑stakes deployments.
• Problem‑solve complex technical challenges in regulated environments.

You May Be a Good Fit If – Required Experience

• 6+ years of customer‑facing Technical or Engineering Program Manager experience in AI/ML consulting or enterprise delivery.
• Excellent executive communication and stakeholder management.
• Experience with government, defence or heavily regulated customers.
• Proven track record managing complex, multi‑stakeholder programs with stringent compliance.
• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field; advanced degree or technical certifications a plus.

Technical Background

• Strong understanding of enterprise software architectures (cloud, on‑premises, hybrid, air‑gapped).
• Knowledge of modern AI (LLMs, agentic systems, RAG, fine‑tuning, responsible AI) is a differentiator.
• Comfortable discussing APIs, model inference, data pipelines, and ML operations with technical stakeholders.

Government & Defence Acumen

• Deep understanding of how Canadian government procure, evaluate, and deploy technology.
• Familiarity with data sovereignty, privacy laws, accessibility standards, official languages, and 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 clearance (Secret or Top Secret); strong preference for Top Secret.
• Bilingual (English/French) proficiency.
• Background in Canadian defence 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 for active Top Secret holders; entries will also be considered for candidates with Secret clearance eligible for TS upgrade, those willing to undergo clearance, or those with a lapsed clearance.

• Obtaining Top Secret clearance can take 12‑18 months; candidates without active clearance will work on non‑classified accounts while clearance proceeds.

What Makes This Role Unique

This is a highly specialised intersection of frontier AI, national security, and public‑sector digital transformation. You will work on some of Canada’s most sensitive AI deployments, navigating security, ethics, and accountability to deliver high‑impact solutions.

Compensation (Canada)

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.
• Full health and dental benefits, including a separate budget for mental health.
• RRSP matching, 401(k), 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 workspace improvement credit.
  • Education and learning stipend for conferences, courses, and coaching.
• 6 weeks of paid vacation (30 working days).
• Budget for traveling to other offices if you work remotely, plus an annual company off‑site.

How and Where We Work

• Cohere is remote‑friendly with offices in Toronto, San Francisco, New York City, London, Paris, Montreal, and more coming soon.
• In‑office employees enjoy a daily lunch program, snacks, and regular community events.
• Remote employees receive a $500 home‑office stipend and a co‑working benefit to work with colleagues in their city.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

We strive to create an inclusive work environment for all; we welcome applicants from all backgrounds. If you require 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.