Technical Program Manager, Ai Delivery For Public Sector & Defence, Canada

Who are we?Cohere is 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 train and deploy frontier models for enterprises building AI systems and work with government and defence organizations to adopt AI responsibly.
Why This Role?We are seeking an experienced Program Manager to join our customer‑facing Program Management team focused on Canadian public sector and defence accounts. This role bridges our AI capabilities with the needs of federal departments, agencies, Crown corporations, and defence organizations.
LocationOttawa (preferred) or Montreal or Toronto (required).
Security ClearanceActive Top Secret clearance strongly preferred;
candidates eligible to obtain clearance will also be considered.
What You’ll Do
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.
Maintain clear, timely, and objective communication across Cohere’s engineering organization, customer stakeholders, and government leadership.
Present technical roadmaps and status updates to senior government officials and departmental executives.
Create and manage project schedules accounting 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.
Identify and mitigate government‑specific risks such as privacy compliance, Algorithmic Impact Assessments, Treasury Board submissions, and security authorizations.
Coordinate cross‑functional work on model customization, security hardening, integration with government systems, and bilingual support.
Problem‑solve complex technical challenges in air‑gapped, on‑premises, or highly regulated environments.
Required Experience
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 skills.
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 are a plus.
Technical Background
Strong understanding of enterprise software deployment architectures (cloud, on‑premises, hybrid, air‑gapped).
Hands‑on knowledge or experience with modern AI concepts such as LLMs, agentic systems, RAG, fine‑tuning, evaluations, and responsible AI.
Comfortable discussing API integrations, model inference, data pipelines, and ML operations with technical stakeholders.
Government & Defence Acumen
Deep understanding of how Canadian government organizations procure, evaluate, and deploy technology.
Familiarity with Canadian government requirements: data sovereignty, privacy laws (Privacy Act), accessibility standards, official language obligations, and 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).
Nice To Have
Active Canadian government security clearance (Secret or Top Secret).
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.
Security Clearance RequirementsThis role requires eligibility for Canadian government security clearance. Strong preference will be given to candidates who currently hold an active Top Secret clearance.
CompensationFor candidates in Canada, the compensation range is $160,000 – $245,000 CAD.
Perks
Weekly lunch stipend of $75 or equivalent 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 for arts, culture, fitness, wellness, quality time, workspace improvement.
Education and learning stipend for conferences, courses, and coaching.
6 weeks of paid vacation (30 working days).
Travel budget for remote employees to visit offices and annual company offsite.
How And Where We Work
Cohere is remote‑friendly with offices in Toronto, San Francisco, New York City, London, Paris, Montreal, and other locations in the near future.
Office‑based employees enjoy a daily lunch program, snacks, and regular community and social events.
Remote employees receive a $500 home office stipend and a co‑working benefit within their city.
Equal Opportunity EmploymentWe 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.
We may use AI‑enabled tools to screen and assess applicants against the criteria for this position. This helps our recruiters identify potentially qualified candidates but does not limit the applications our recruiters may review or consider.
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