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

CohereLondonProduct Management & Program Management
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Salary
Not listed
Job type
Full-time
Work mode
Remote
Posted
21 Jul 2026
Status
Open · checked 7d ago

About this role

The Technical Program Manager, AI Delivery for Public Sector & Defence is a full-time position based in London at Cohere, offering remote flexibility. This specialized role suits an experienced professional who bridges cutting-edge artificial intelligence with the stringent demands of government and national security organizations.

Role Overview

Cohere is seeking an experienced program manager to join its customer-facing program management team, focusing specifically on UK public sector and defence accounts. In this capacity, the technical program lead acts as the primary contact for government customers, navigating complex procurement processes, data sovereignty regulations, and security requirements. The role collaborates closely with strategic customer teams, applied machine learning engineering, forward deployed engineering, platform, product, and go-to-market units to ensure successful deployment and scaling of enterprise AI solutions.

Key Responsibilities

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 point of contact for government clients, building trusted relationships with departmental CIOs and IT directors.
Translate government requirements regarding security, compliance, data sovereignty, and accessibility into actionable engineering plans.
Navigate government procurement processes, including RFP responses and contractual technical obligations.
Provide clear communication between internal engineering organizations and government leadership, presenting technical roadmaps to senior officials.
Manage project schedules and dependencies across government departments, security authorities, cloud service providers, and internal teams.
Ensure on-time delivery of AI solutions meeting government-grade security, privacy, and performance standards in air-gapped or regulated environments.

Requirements

6+ years of experience as a customer-facing Technical or Engineering Program Manager within AI/ML consulting, technology transformation, or enterprise software delivery.
Proven track record of managing complex, multi-stakeholder technical programs with stringent compliance requirements.
Excellent executive communication and stakeholder management abilities.
Strong background working with government, defence, or heavily regulated public sector customers.
Solid understanding of enterprise software deployment architectures across cloud, on-premises, hybrid, and air-gapped environments.
Eligibility to obtain UK government security clearance, with preference given for active Top Secret or Secret clearance.
Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field.

Nice to Have

Active UK government security clearance, with a preference for active Top Secret clearance.
Background in or strong familiarity with UK defence, intelligence, or critical infrastructure sectors.
Experience with cloud services such as AWS or Azure within protected environments.
Advanced degree or relevant technical certifications.
Project management certifications such as PMP, PgMP, or government-specific methodologies.
Working knowledge of modern AI concepts including LLMs, agentic systems, Model Context Protocol (MCP), RAG, fine-tuning, evaluations, and responsible AI.
Experience with Algorithmic Impact Assessments or AI ethics frameworks.

Skills and Tools

AWS
Azure
RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation)
Large Language Models (LLMs) and Machine Learning Operations (MLOps)
Enterprise software deployment architectures

Salary and Benefits

Weekly lunch stipend of £75 or equivalent.
Full health and dental benefits, including a separate budget for mental health support.
Pension scheme participation.
100% parental leave top-up for up to 6 months for either parent.
Annual enrichment benefits covering arts and culture, fitness and wellness, quality time, and workspace improvement credits.
Education and learning stipend for conferences, courses, and coaching.
6 weeks of paid vacation, equating to 30 working days.
Travel budget for visiting other offices and attending annual company offsites.
Home office setup stipend of $500.

About the Company

Cohere is a leading security-first enterprise AI company that builds cutting-edge foundation models and end-to-end products to solve real-world business problems. Headquartered in Toronto with key global offices in London, New York City, San Francisco, Montreal, Paris, Berlin, and Seoul, the company focuses on empowering enterprises to securely adopt and scale artificial intelligence systems.

How to Apply

Interested candidates should visit the official Cohere careers page to submit an application for this position.

Skills and tech stack

AWSAzureRAG

Questions candidates ask

What is the primary focus of this role at Cohere?

The role focuses on leading technical program delivery for UK public sector and defence accounts, bridging Cohere's frontier AI capabilities with government security and compliance needs.

Is security clearance required for this position?

Yes, the role requires eligibility for UK government security clearance. Active Top Secret clearance is preferred, but candidates with active Secret clearance or those willing to undergo the clearance process are also considered.

What experience level is required?

Candidates must have 6+ years of experience as a customer-facing Technical or Engineering Program Manager in AI/ML consulting, technology transformation, or enterprise software delivery.

Can I work remotely?

Yes, Cohere is remote-friendly, and the company also maintains an office in London along with a co-working benefit for remote employees.

What technical skills are relevant to this job?

Key technical areas include AWS, Azure, RAG, enterprise software deployment architectures, LLMs, and machine learning operations.

Ready to apply?

The application is on the official Cohere careers page.

Apply on company site