Software Engineer - Applied ML - UK Public Sector

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!

About the Company:

Cohere’s team partners with UK public sector organisations to unlock transformative value through secure, ethical deployment of Generative AI (GenAI) solutions. We work collaboratively with government agencies, NHS trusts, and local authorities to address complex societal challenges while maintaining the highest standards of data security and compliance.

As a Software Engineer (SWE) on our Applied ML team you will work directly with UK public sector customers to quickly understand their greatest problems and design and implement solutions using Cohere's stack.

In this role, you’ll apply your problem-solving ability, creativity, and technical skills to close the last-mile gap in Enterprise AI adoption. You’ll be able to deliver products like early startup CTOs/CEOs do and disrupt some of the most important industries and institutions globally!

About the Role:

We seek strong SWE's with deep UK public sector expertise to lead GenAI implementation projects. This role requires active SC Clearance (with willingness to obtain DV Clearance if needed).
In this role, you will:

• Own and build large new areas within our product.

• Work across the backend, frontend, and interact with Large Language Models.

• Experiment at a high velocity and level of quality to engage our customers and eventually deliver solutions that exceed their expectations.

• Work across the entire product lifecycle from conceptualisation through production.

This career opportunity may be a good match for you if you have:

• Proficiency in one or more of Go, Python, Node, React, Next.js.

• Experience building ML infrastructure and AI-powered solutions.

• Background in developing language models using frameworks like Lang Chain and evaluating their performance using tools such as the Llama Index.

• A track record in scaling products at hyper-growth startups.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

• Ability and interest to travel up to 25%, as needed to client sites, but flexible based on personal preferences.

Qualifications:

• Mandatory: Active SC Clearance (DV Clearance preferred)

• UK citizenship with 8+ years in public sector technology roles

• Proven experience deploying AI/ML solutions in secure government environments

• Deep understanding of UK public sector ecosystems (Central/Local Government, NHS, Emergency Services)

• Familiarity with government cloud strategies (e.g., Crown Hosting, G-Cloud, MODNET) and data security frameworks

• Experience building LLM applications using tools such as Langchain.

• Experience in Information Retrieval systems for document question answering.

• Experience in day-to-day NLP for the industry using Python and related toolchains (SpaCy, HuggingFace, NLTK, etc.).

• 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.

• 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, 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.