Who you are

- Security Clearance: Active Top Secret clearance strongly preferred; candidates eligible and willing to obtain clearance will also be considered

- 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

- Strong understanding of enterprise software deployment architectures (cloud, on-premises, hybrid, air-gapped)

- Working knowledge of or experience with contemporary 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

- 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)

- 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

- 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

- If any of the above doesn’t line up exactly with your experience, we still encourage you to apply

What the job involves

- 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

- 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

- 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

- 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

- 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

- 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

Benefits

- Six weeks’ paid vacation

- Equity / stock options
- RRSP, 401(k), and Pension Scheme contributions

- Coverage for 100% of your insurance premiums across health, dental, vision, and travel

- Additional coverage for accessing mental health providers/services

- Six months of fully paid parental leave, including adoption and surrogacy

- Financial support for egg freezing and IVF in Canada and the UK
- A monthly fitness and wellness allowance

- Globally dispersed company that supports a remote work culture
- A $2,000 annual education benefit for professional development
- A weekly stipend for meals when working remotely and catered lunch when working from one of our global offices
- A monthly arts and culture allowance
- A monthly quality time allowance

📌 Technical Program Manager (Toronto)
🏢 Cohere
📍 Toronto