Cognition
Medium (~300)
Elastic
Large (~4,000)
Best For
Cognition
Best for: Elite engineers who want to build frontier AI coding agents and own a meaningful equity stake
Elastic
Best for: Professionals interested in Elastic
Ratings
CognitionElastic
3.8
4.0
Overall
3.2
4.1
Work-Life Balance
3.9
4.1
Culture & Values
3.8
4.0
Comp & Benefits
3.6
3.8
Senior Mgmt
3.6
3.8
Career Opps
👍 76% Recommend
👤 80% CEO Approval (Scott Wu)
👍 80% Recommend
👤 84% CEO Approval (CEO)
Culture Values
Cognition only
⚙️ Engineering-Driven🚀 Ship Fast & Iterate🎯 Direct Product Impact
Elastic only
🌐 Remote-Friendly🔓 Open Source⚖️ Work-Life Balance📡 Async-First
Shared
💎 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
Elastic
- Fully distributed from day one — genuine remote-first culture across 40+ countries
- Open-source DNA means engineers contribute to community, not just internal products
- Cross-timezone coordination means occasional early/late meetings
- Recent leadership shifts have introduced more process and oversight
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.
Elastic
Elastic — check Glassdoor for detailed reviews.
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
Elastic — 198 jobs
💻 Engineering
87
💼 Sales / GTM
67
📣 Marketing
8
📋 Product
7
👤 HR / People
4
🎨 Design
3
🧠 ML / AI
3
📊 Data
2
Summary
Cognition scores 3.8/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 3.2 work-life balance rating. Elastic scores 4.0/5.0 overall with a 4.1 WLB. That’s a 0.2-point gap on overall satisfaction.
Both companies share these culture values: Strong Comp & Equity. Cognition also emphasizes Engineering-Driven, Ship Fast & Iterate, Direct Product Impact. Elastic also emphasizes Remote-Friendly, Open Source, Work-Life Balance, Async-First.
On the hiring front, Cognition has 62 open roles and Elastic has 198 open roles.