Partner Development Manager - US Public Sector: Cohere

Cohere is an AI company that trains and deploys frontier models (LLMs) for developers and enterprises, focusing on applications like content generation, semantic search, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), and agents.

The company is seeking a Partner Development Manager to build its US Public Sector practice. As public sector adoption of GenAI moves from pilots to production, this role is critical for establishing Cohere (which offers secure on-prem and air-gapped models) as the trusted partner for government agencies. You will be responsible for building relationships and go-to-market plans with System Integrators (SIs), distributors, resellers, and consulting firms.

Important Notes
A DoD Secret clearance (or the ability to obtain one) is listed as a critical requirement for this role.

Responsibilities
Go-to-Market Strategy: Define and execute Cohere’s public-sector partner plan, focusing on system integrators, distributors, resellers, ISVs, and cloud providers.

Partner Management: Recruit, onboard, and certify partners to deploy and manage Cohere’s platform and foundational LLMs.

Pipeline Generation: Own the joint pipeline, creating co-sell motions, solution plays, and capture strategies that map Cohere's capabilities to agency mission needs and procurement cycles.

Enablement: Drive partner enablement through sales and technical workshops.

Tracking: Run Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) and joint business planning, tracking sourced and influenced Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) against targets.

Internal Liaison: Serve as the "voice of the partner" to Cohere’s Product, Engineering, and Legal teams, providing feedback on security controls, compliance, and AI ethics.

Advocacy: Evangelize Cohere at partner and industry events to build thought leadership in responsible GenAI for the public sector.

Requirements
8+ years in public-sector partner, alliances, or capture roles within AI/ML, cloud, or cybersecurity domains, with a track record of enterprise ARR contribution.

Deep knowledge of U.S. federal procurement and contracting vehicles; experience negotiating teaming agreements.

Working understanding of GenAI (LLMs, retrieval-augmented generation, fine-tuning, agentic workflows).

Security Clearance: Existing relationships and/or a DoD Secret (or ability to obtain) clearance is critical for classified GenAI engagements.

Technical Fluency: Ability to demo a chatbot prototype, sketch a data-flow diagram, and brief executives.

Familiarity with AI policy and ethics frameworks.

Understanding of Canadian (Industrial and Technological Benefits Policy) and FVEY/NATO partner go-to-market motions.

A growth mindset and a bias for action in a fast-paced, "zero-to-one" startup environment.