Manager of Technical Staff, Sovereign AI

Who are we?

Cohere is the leading security-first enterprise AI company. We build cutting-edge foundation AI models and end-to-end products that are designed to solve real-world business problems.

We’re training and deploying frontier models for enterprises who are building AI systems. We believe that our work is instrumental to the widespread adoption of AI and we are looking for folks that want to be part of that.

We obsess over what we build. Each one of us is responsible for contributing to increasing the capabilities of our models and the value they drive for our customers. Cohere is a team of researchers, engineers, designers, and more, who are all passionate about their craft.

We are a global technology company co-headquartered in Toronto and San Francisco, with key offices in London, New York City, Montreal, Seoul, Germany and Paris. Join us!

WHY THIS ROLE?

This role is hands-on and research-driven. You will design and implement novel research ideas, ship state of the art models to production, and maintain deep connections to academia and the government. You’ll dive into the latest literature on LLMs, experiment with frontier models, and lead a team of talented engineers and researchers to build scalable, production-ready solutions. At Cohere, we blend engineering and research seamlessly—everyone contributes to both, depending on their interests and organizational needs. We provide access to world-class compute resources, data, and talent to ensure you can do your best work.

Note: This role is in-person in Toronto only.

AS THE MANAGER FOR THE SOVEREIGN AI MODELLING TEAM, YOU WILL:

• Manage a team of scientists and engineers, fostering a culture of high-performance, innovation and continuous learning
• Stay up-to-date with the latest research in LLMs and related fields
• Lead scalable strategies to train frontier models
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams across modelling, forward-deployed engineering, and solutions architecture

YOU MAY BE A GOOD FIT IF YOU HAVE:

• A PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, or a related field, with publications in top-tier venues (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, ACL, EMNLP)
• Deep expertise in LLMs, with a strong understanding of the latest research and trends
• Prior experience managing a team of engineers and/or scientists
• Strong software engineering skills, with proficiency in Python and PyTorch, TensorFlow, or similar frameworks
• Experience with distributed systems, cloud infrastructure, and scalable architectures
• Excellent communication and organizational skills, with the ability to lead and motivate a team
• A proactive, self-motivated mindset, with a passion for solving ambitious, open-ended problems

Canadian citizenship and eligibility for security clearance (required for this role).

FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES AT COHERE ENJOY THESE PERKS:

• A weekly lunch stipend of $75/£75 or equivalent in your local currency for lunch.
• 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 City, 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.

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

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 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/12a6IrLdF3kI2nonKSr4tiFuz18rLQbaeYV-JM9L4o9Q/edit, 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 it doesn't limit the applications our recruiters may review or consider.