Why This Job is Featured on The SaaS Jobs
This role stands out as a SaaS application of frontier AI where product work is shaped directly by real customer constraints. Positioned within a vendor building and deploying large language models for enterprise use, the remit sits at the intersection of platform capability and last mile implementation, with a clear focus on secure adoption in UK public sector environments. That combination is increasingly relevant as SaaS companies move from generic AI features to domain specific deployments that must satisfy governance and data handling expectations.
From a SaaS career perspective, the work develops strengths that travel well across modern product engineering orgs: taking ambiguous customer problems, translating them into shipped software, and iterating through the full lifecycle from concept to production. Exposure to end to end delivery across backend, frontend, and LLM driven components also builds practical judgment about evaluation, reliability, and operationalisation, which are now core competencies for engineers working on AI enabled SaaS products.
The role is best suited to engineers who prefer ownership and can operate close to users, balancing delivery with careful attention to security and compliance. It will appeal to those who enjoy cross functional collaboration and are motivated by applied problem solving rather than purely research oriented ML work, particularly in regulated or high assurance settings.
The section above is editorial commentary from The SaaS Jobs, provided to help SaaS professionals understand the role in a broader industry context.
Job Description
Who are we?
Our mission is to scale intelligence to serve humanity. We’re training and deploying frontier models for developers and enterprises who are building AI systems to power magical experiences like content generation, semantic search, RAG, and agents. We believe that our work is instrumental to the widespread adoption of AI.
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. We like to work hard and move fast to do what’s best for our customers.
Cohere is a team of researchers, engineers, designers, and more, who are passionate about their craft. Each person is one of the best in the world at what they do. We believe that a diverse range of perspectives is a requirement for building great products.
Join us on our mission and shape the future!
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.).
If some of the above doesn’t line up perfectly with your experience, we still encourage you to apply!
We value and celebrate diversity and 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.
Full-Time Employees at Cohere enjoy these Perks:
🤝 An open and inclusive culture and work environment
🧑💻 Work closely with a team on the cutting edge of AI research
🍽 Weekly lunch stipend, in-office lunches & snacks
🦷 Full health and dental benefits, including a separate budget to take care of your mental health
🐣 100% Parental Leave top-up for up to 6 months
🎨 Personal enrichment benefits towards arts and culture, fitness and well-being, quality time, and workspace improvement
🏙 Remote-flexible, offices in Toronto, New York, San Francisco, London and Paris, as well as a co-working stipend
✈️ 6 weeks of vacation (30 working days!)
