Cognition
Medium (~300)
Crusoe
Mid (~800)
Best For
Cognition
Best for: Elite engineers who want to build frontier AI coding agents and own a meaningful equity stake
Crusoe
Best for: Engineers who want AI infrastructure with a genuine clean-energy mission
Ratings
CognitionCrusoe
3.8
4.3
Overall
3.2
3.5
Work-Life Balance
3.9
4.5
Culture & Values
3.8
4.2
Comp & Benefits
3.6
4.0
Senior Mgmt
3.6
4.0
Career Opps
👍 76% Recommend
👤 80% CEO Approval (Scott Wu)
👍 85% Recommend
👤 85% CEO Approval (Chase Lochmiller)
Culture Values
Cognition only
🎯 Direct Product Impact
Crusoe only
💜 Mission-Driven🧩 Wears Many Hats
Shared
⚙️ Engineering-Driven🚀 Ship Fast & Iterate💎 Strong Comp & Equity
Pros & Cons
Cognition
- Elite engineering team with strong equity
- Cutting-edge AI agent work
- High-intensity startup pace
- In-person SF expectations
Crusoe
- Unique mission combining AI compute with clean energy — employees feel genuine environmental impact
- Strong compensation and equity with startup energy and rapidly growing resources
- Startup pace means long hours and ambiguity — not for people who want strict 9-to-5
- Rapid scaling creates process gaps, shifting priorities, and some organizational chaos
Bottom Line
Cognition
Choose Cognition if you want world-class AI agent research (makers of Devin) with strong equity upside — but expect top-tier intensity and mandatory in-person in San Francisco.
Crusoe
Choose Crusoe if you want AI infrastructure with a genuine clean-energy mission and strong equity — but expect startup chaos and long hours as the company scales rapidly.
Open Roles
Cognition — 62 jobs
💻 Engineering
21
💼 Sales / GTM
10
📊 Data
3
⚖️ Legal
2
⚙️ Operations
2
💰 Finance
1
👤 HR / People
1
📣 Marketing
1
🧠 ML / AI
1
Crusoe — 318 jobs
💻 Engineering
119
💼 Sales / GTM
17
⚙️ Operations
16
⚖️ Legal
8
📋 Product
8
💰 Finance
7
🎨 Design
5
👤 HR / People
5
📣 Marketing
5
📊 Data
3
Summary
Cognition scores 3.8/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 3.2 work-life balance rating. Crusoe scores 4.3/5.0 overall with a 3.5 WLB. That’s a 0.5-point gap on overall satisfaction.
Both companies share these culture values: Engineering-Driven, Ship Fast & Iterate, Strong Comp & Equity. Cognition also emphasizes Direct Product Impact. Crusoe also emphasizes Mission-Driven, Wears Many Hats.
On the hiring front, Cognition has 62 open roles and Crusoe has 318 open roles.