Chainguard
Mid (~350)
Cohere
Small (~500)
Best For
Chainguard
Best for: Security-minded engineers who want remote-first open-source work with strong comp
Cohere
Best for: Enterprise AI builders willing to trade stability for cutting-edge NLP research
Ratings
ChainguardCohere
4.5
2.9
Overall
4.2
2.5
Work-Life Balance
4.3
3.0
Culture & Values
4.2
3.2
Comp & Benefits
4.1
2.3
Senior Mgmt
4.0
2.5
Career Opps
👍 88% Recommend
👤 90% CEO Approval (Dan Lorenc)
👍 48% Recommend
👤 55% CEO Approval (Aidan Gomez)
Culture Values
Chainguard only
🌐 Remote-Friendly🔓 Open Source💎 Strong Comp & Equity⚖️ Work-Life Balance
Cohere only
🌱 Learning & Growth
Shared
⚙️ Engineering-Driven
Pros & Cons
Chainguard
- Fully remote with outstanding benefits — 100% employer-paid insurance for employees and families
- Founders are practitioners who understand what engineers and security teams need
- Growing so fast that some inefficiencies exist, though improving
- Fully remote means you miss in-person interactions with teammates
Cohere
- Cutting-edge NLP research from Transformer co-author
- Enterprise AI focus gives real customer impact
- Frequent organizational restructuring has led to notable team turnover
- Internal communication from leadership could be more transparent
Bottom Line
Chainguard
Choose Chainguard if you want to build supply chain security tools in a remote, open-source-first culture with strong equity — but expect a fast-moving startup pace.
Cohere
Choose Cohere if you want Transformer co-author pedigree and enterprise AI focus — but expect turbulence and lower ratings.
Open Roles
Chainguard — 63 jobs
💼 Sales / GTM
27
💻 Engineering
24
📣 Marketing
3
📋 Product
2
🎨 Design
1
Cohere — 116 jobs
💻 Engineering
36
💼 Sales / GTM
12
🧠 ML / AI
9
📋 Product
8
📣 Marketing
7
💰 Finance
4
👤 HR / People
4
📊 Data
3
⚙️ Operations
2
⚖️ Legal
1
🎧 Support
1
Summary
Chainguard scores 4.5/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 4.2 work-life balance rating. Cohere scores 2.9/5.0 overall with a 2.5 WLB. That’s a 1.6-point gap on overall satisfaction.
Both companies share these culture values: Engineering-Driven. Chainguard also emphasizes Remote-Friendly, Open Source, Strong Comp & Equity, Work-Life Balance. Cohere also emphasizes Learning & Growth.
On the hiring front, Chainguard has 63 open roles and Cohere has 116 open roles.