Position: Technical Program Manager, AI Delivery for Public Sector & Defence , East Coast
Engineering Program Manager, Public Sector & Defence
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Why This Role?
We're seeking an experienced Engineering Program Manager to join Cohere's customer-facing Engineering Program Management team, with a focus on Canadian public sector and defence accounts. This is a highly specialized role requiring an individual who understands both 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 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
Required Experience
7+ years of experience as an Engineering or Technical Program Manager
At least 2 years in customer‑facing technical delivery and operations for enterprise‑grade software or AI/ML solutions
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
Technical Background
Strong understanding of enterprise software deployment architectures (cloud, on‑premises, hybrid, air‑gapped)
Knowledge of or experience with LLM training, fine‑tuning, or deployment would be a…
