Technical Program Manager, AI Delivery for Public Sector & Defense, France

We are the leading security-first enterprise AI company that builds cutting‑edge foundation AI models and end‑to‑end products designed to solve real‑world business problems. We obsess over what we build and are a global technology company co‑headquartered in Toronto and San Francisco, with key offices in London, New York, Montreal, Seoul, Germany, and Paris.

Why This Role?

We’re seeking an experienced Program Manager to join Cohere’s customer‑facing Program Management team, focused on public sector and defence accounts in Europe, particularly in France. The role requires deep understanding of frontier AI technical delivery and the unique requirements of government and defence organisations.

Location: France

Eligibility: French citizen living in France, fluent in French. Security Clearance: Active French Secret clearance preferred; candidates eligible and willing to obtain clearance will also be considered.

What You’ll Do

• Own end‑to‑end technical program delivery for French and broader European public sector and defence customers, from initial deployment through production scaling.
• Serve as the primary technical program point of contact, building trusted relationships with departmental CIOs, IT directors, and technical teams.
• Translate complex public sector and defence requirements (security, compliance, accessibility, bilingualism, data sovereignty) into actionable engineering plans.
• Navigate complex procurement processes, RFP responses, and contractual technical obligations.

Strategic Communication

• Provide clear, timely, and objective communication across Cohere’s engineering organisation, customer stakeholders, and defence 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 stakeholders, including departmental executives.
• Represent Cohere’s technical capabilities in sensitive government and defence contexts.

Complex Program Management

• Create and manage project schedules that account for public sector and defence timelines, security review processes, and approval cycles.
• Identify and manage dependencies across government departments, security authorities, cloud service providers, and internal Cohere teams.
• Navigate risks unique to government and defence deployments: privacy compliance, security, political and regulatory, technology and infrastructure.
• Drive alignment between product development priorities and specific customer requirements.

Technical Delivery & Execution

• Ensure on‑time delivery of AI solutions that meet 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 and defence deployments.
• Problem‑solve complex technical challenges in air‑gapped, on‑premises, or highly regulated environments.

Required Experience

• 6+ years 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.
• Proven track record managing complex, multi‑stakeholder technical programs with stringent compliance requirements.
• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field; advanced degree or technical certifications a plus.

Technical Background

• Strong understanding of enterprise software deployment architectures (cloud, on‑premises, hybrid, air‑gapped).
• Working knowledge of modern AI technologies (LLMs, agentic systems, MCP, RAG, fine‑tuning, evals, responsible AI) is 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 and defence organisations procure, evaluate, and deploy technology.
• Familiarity with European government requirements: data sovereignty, privacy laws (Privacy Act), accessibility standards, official language 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 French security clearance.

Nice to Have

• Active French security clearance (Secret or Top Secret).
• Bilingual (English/French) proficiency.
• Background or familiarity with European 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.

What Makes This Role Unique

This is a highly specialised role at the intersection of frontier AI, national security, and public sector digital transformation. You will work on some of Canada’s most sensitive and impactful AI deployments, helping government organisations harness cutting‑edge technology while maintaining the highest standards of security, ethics, and accountability.

Full‑Time Employees at Cohere Enjoy These Perks

• 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, 401K, 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 offsite.

How and Where We Work

• Cohere is remote‑friendly. We have offices in Toronto, San Francisco, New York, 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.