Technical Program Manager (AI Delivery for Public Sector & Defense)

Cohere

Paris, France

2 days ago

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Role details

Contract type

Permanent contract

Employment type

Full-time (> 32 hours)

Experience level

Expert

Experience required

6 years minimum

Working hours

Regular working hours

Languages

English, French

Job source

www.welcometothejungle.com

Tech stack

Artificial Intelligence Amazon Web Services Microsoft Azure Cloud Computing Machine Learning Cloud Services Software Deployment Enterprise Software Applications Retrieval-Augmented Generation Large Language Models Agentic-AI Machine Learning Operations

+3 more

Model Inference Data Pipelines Api Management

Job description

We’re seeking an experienced Program Manager to join Cohere’s customer-facing Program Management team, with a focus on public sector and defence accounts in Europe, particularly in France. This is a highly specialised role requiring an individual who understands technical program delivery, the technical complexity of frontier AI models and the unique requirements of government and defence organisations
You will be the critical bridge between our cutting-edge AI capabilities and the specific needs of Ministries, Agencies, and defence organisations across Europe. 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 and defence engagements
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 for customers, 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
Provide clear, timely, and objective communication across Cohere’s engineering organisation, customer stakeholders, pubic sector 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
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
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

Requirements

Critically, this individual is required to be a French citizen living in France with fluency in French as this will enable immediate engagement with critical defence and national security customers
Experience working with government, defence, or heavily regulated customers
6+ years of experience as a customer-facing Technical or Engineering Program Manager in AI/ML consulting, technology transformation, or enterprise software delivery
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
Excellent executive communication and stakeholder management
Working knowledge of or experience with modern 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
Strong understanding of enterprise software deployment architectures (cloud, on-premises, hybrid, air-gapped)
Experience with Algorithmic Impact Assessments or AI ethics frameworks is a strong asset
Deep understanding of how government and defence organisations procure, evaluate, and deploy technology
Eligible to obtain French security clearance
Familiarity with European 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
If any of the above doesn’t line up exactly with your experience, we still encourage you to apply
Active French security clearance (Secret or Top Secret)
Background in or strong familiarity with European defence, intelligence, or critical infrastructure sectors
Bilingual (English/French) proficiency
Experience with GC Cloud services (Azure, AWS GovCloud) or Protected B/C environments
Project management certification (PMP, PgMP) or government-specific methodologies

Benefits & conditions

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

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