Cognition
Medium (~300)
Grafana Labs
Large (~1,700)
Best For
Cognition
Best for: Elite engineers who want to build frontier AI coding agents and own a meaningful equity stake
Grafana Labs
Best for: Engineers who want open-source impact with fully remote flexibility and strong WLB
Ratings
CognitionGrafana Labs
3.8
4.1
Overall
3.2
4.3
Work-Life Balance
3.9
4.1
Culture & Values
3.8
4.0
Comp & Benefits
3.6
3.6
Senior Mgmt
3.6
3.8
Career Opps
👍 76% Recommend
👤 80% CEO Approval (Scott Wu)
👍 78% Recommend
👤 71% CEO Approval (Raj Dutt)
Culture Values
Cognition only
🚀 Ship Fast & Iterate💎 Strong Comp & Equity🎯 Direct Product Impact
Grafana Labs only
🌐 Remote-Friendly🔓 Open Source🪟 Transparent⚖️ Work-Life Balance🌱 Learning & Growth
Shared
⚙️ Engineering-Driven
Pros & Cons
Cognition
- Elite engineering team with strong equity
- Cutting-edge AI agent work
- High-intensity startup pace
- In-person SF expectations
Grafana Labs
- 100% remote-first across 40+ countries with generous PTO (~30 days) and mandatory shutdown days
- Engineers rate it 4.9/5 — absurdly talented colleagues with strong open-source culture
- Career progression above staff level can be challenging with limited upward mobility
- Product management is sometimes marginalized with engineers holding disproportionate power
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.
Grafana Labs
Choose Grafana Labs if you want deep open-source impact, fully remote flexibility, and excellent WLB — but expect limited career progression above staff level.
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
Grafana Labs — 149 jobs
💻 Engineering
92
💼 Sales / GTM
32
📣 Marketing
6
👤 HR / People
1
⚖️ Legal
1
⚙️ Operations
1
Summary
Cognition scores 3.8/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 3.2 work-life balance rating. Grafana Labs scores 4.1/5.0 overall with a 4.3 WLB. That’s a 0.3-point gap on overall satisfaction.
Both companies share these culture values: Engineering-Driven. Cognition also emphasizes Ship Fast & Iterate, Strong Comp & Equity, Direct Product Impact. Grafana Labs also emphasizes Remote-Friendly, Open Source, Transparent, Work-Life Balance, Learning & Growth.
On the hiring front, Cognition has 62 open roles and Grafana Labs has 149 open roles.