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

Cohere; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health and dental benefits

Parental leave top‑up

Learning stipend

Job summary

Cohere is seeking an experienced Program Manager to lead UK public sector and defence engagements, bridging cutting‑edge AI capabilities with government needs. You will manage complex, multi‑team delivery while navigating security, data sovereignty and procurement requirements.

Location: United Kingdom. Active Top Secret clearance preferred; candidates with Active Secret clearance or eligibility to obtain clearance will be considered.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of customer-facing technical or engineering program management 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

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end technical program delivery for UK public sector and defence customers.
• Be the primary technical program contact for government customers, building trusted relationships with CIOs, IT directors, and technical teams.
• Translate government requirements (security, compliance, accessibility, bilingualism, data sovereignty) into actionable engineering plans.
• Navigate government procurement processes, RFP responses, and contractual technical obligations.

Skills

Executive communication

Stakeholder management

Technical program delivery

AI/ML program management

Government/defence experience

Education

Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field

Advanced degree or technical certs (plus)

Tools

Azure

AWS GovCloud

Job description

About Cohere

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

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 and Security Clearance

Location: United Kingdom

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.

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

Qualifications

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 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

Benefits

• A weekly lunch stipend of $75/£75 or equivalent in your local currency
• 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 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 off‑site

How 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

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.