Customer Success Manager

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!

Why This Role?

We're seeking an exceptional Customer Success Manager with expertise in the Montreal, Canada, private sector landscape to lead our most strategic commercial accounts. This role requires an individual who understands both the transformative potential of frontier AI and the unique requirements of organizations in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.

You will be the trusted advisor and strategic partner for a wide range of private sector organizations, including large enterprises, startups and scaleups, as they navigate the complex journey of AI adoption. You'll guide organizations through the implementation of frontier AI in secure, regulated environments—ensuring solutions deliver a measurable impact while meeting stringent security, privacy, compliance, and ethical requirements.

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 voice of the customer internally and the face of Cohere externally for our most sensitive and high-impact commercial engagements. You'll have the unique opportunity to shape how Montreal's most important institutions leverage AI to drive innovation and growth.

What You'll Do

Strategic Customer Partnership:

• Own the success, adoption, and growth of Cohere's Canadian private sector customers, ensuring they realize maximum value from our AI solutions.

• Build deep, trusted relationships with senior stakeholders, including CEOs, CTOs, CIOs, digital transformation leads, and departmental executives.

• Develop comprehensive success plans tailored to each organization's mission, digital strategy, budget cycles, and unique constraints.

• Serve as the primary point of contact and executive sponsor for your accounts, managing escalations and ensuring customer satisfaction.

• Define and track success metrics aligned with private sector priorities: customer satisfaction, service delivery improvements, cost savings, operational efficiency, and accessibility outcomes.

AI Adoption & Implementation Leadership:

• Guide customers through the full lifecycle of AI adoption—from identifying use cases and designing pilots through production deployment and scaling.

• Lead secure AI implementation projects in complex commercial environments, including hybrid and on-premises deployments.

• Navigate the unique challenges of private sector AI adoption: legacy system integration, data sensitivity, lengthy approval processes, and risk-averse organizational cultures.

• Create and execute change management strategies to drive user adoption and value realization across diverse workforces.

• Conduct regular executive business reviews with senior stakeholders, demonstrating ROI, impact, and strategic value.

• Drive contract renewals and account growth by consistently delivering value and building trusted relationships.

Compliance & Risk Management:

• Ensure that all implementations comply with relevant security protocols, including security assessments and authority-to-operate requirements.

• Navigate privacy and compliance requirements, including the Privacy Act, PIPEDA, PHIPA, and accessibility standards.

• Lead or support Algorithmic Impact Assessments and responsible AI governance processes.

• Develop risk mitigation strategies for AI deployments in high-security, mission-critical, and customer-facing contexts.

• Coordinate with customer security teams, privacy officers, legal counsel, and compliance functions.

Customer Advocacy & Product Influence:

• Serve as the voice of private sector customers within Cohere, advocating for features and capabilities that address commercial needs and requirements.

• Provide strategic feedback to Product and Engineering teams on requirements related to security, explainability, accessibility, and ethical AI.

• Contribute to the development of private sector-specific offerings, implementation playbooks, documentation, and best practices.

• Share customer insights to inform Cohere's private sector go-to-market strategy and positioning.

• Represent Cohere at industry forums, working groups, roundtables, and events.

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

• Partner with Sales to support expansion opportunities, renewals, and new customer acquisition.

• Coordinate with Solutions Architects and Forward Deployed Engineers on technical implementation and optimization.

• Work with Legal, Security, and Compliance teams to navigate complex procurement, contracting, and regulatory requirements.

• Collaborate with Marketing on thought leadership content, case studies, and private sector community building.

You May Be a Good Fit If:

Required Experience:

• 8+ years of experience in customer success, account management, strategic consulting, or technology delivery roles within enterprise contexts.

• At least 3-5 years working directly with large enterprises in a technology, digital transformation, or consulting capacity.

• Proven track record of managing complex, strategic accounts with multiple stakeholders, long sales cycles, and multi-year implementation timelines.

• Experience leading AI/ML, cloud, or enterprise software implementations in secure or highly regulated environments.

• Deep understanding of how organizations evaluate, procure, implement, and govern technology solutions.

• The ability to speak both English and French Canadian.

Customer Success & Account Management Excellence:

• Demonstrated success driving customer adoption, expansion, and retention in complex enterprise accounts.

• Experience developing and executing customer success strategies, QBRs, and executive engagement programs.

• Track record of identifying and closing expansion opportunities within existing accounts.

• Ability to manage multiple strategic accounts simultaneously while maintaining high-touch, personalized engagement.

• Experience navigating organizational politics and building coalitions across siloed departments.

Private Sector Acumen:

• Comprehensive knowledge of the Montreal private sector ecosystem.

• Deep familiarity with digital strategies, service delivery transformation, and customer-centric design principles.

• Understanding of budget cycles, procurement frameworks, and contract vehicles.

• Proven ability to work with sensitive information and operate effectively in secure environments.

Nice to Have:

• Bilingual (English/French) proficiency—a strong asset for working across Montreal.

• 3+ years specifically managing GenAI, LLM, or conversational AI implementations.

• Experience with specific Canadian digital transformation initiatives.

• Professional certifications: CSM, PMP, ITIL.

• Background in management consulting, systems integration, or digital transformation consulting.

• Experience with any modern programming language (C++, C#, JavaScript, Python, etc.)

What Makes This Role Unique

This is a rare opportunity to shape how Montreal's most important institutions leverage AI to drive innovation and growth. You'll work with organizations across various industries, helping them navigate the profound opportunities and responsibilities that come with deploying frontier AI technology.

You'll need to balance competing demands: innovation velocity with due diligence, technical possibilities with policy constraints, commercial success with values, and breakthrough capabilities with ethical considerations. It requires patience, strategic thinking, in-depth sector knowledge, awareness, and a genuine passion for achieving successful outcomes.

If you're energized by complex challenges, have deep private sector expertise, understand the gravity of working with sensitive systems, and want to have an outsized impact on Montreal's digital future while working with cutting-edge AI technology, this role is for you.

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!)