Cognition
Medium (~300)
Poolside
Small (~150)
Best For
Cognition
Best for: Elite engineers who want to build frontier AI coding agents and own a meaningful equity stake
Poolside
Best for: AI researchers who want frontier code generation work with genuine remote flexibility and Paris offsites
Ratings
CognitionPoolside
3.8
3.8
Overall
3.2
3.5
Work-Life Balance
3.9
3.9
Culture & Values
3.8
3.8
Comp & Benefits
3.6
3.6
Senior Mgmt
3.6
3.6
Career Opps
👍 76% Recommend
👤 80% CEO Approval (Scott Wu)
👍 76% Recommend
👤 80% CEO Approval (Jason Warner)
Culture Values
Cognition only
🚀 Ship Fast & Iterate💎 Strong Comp & Equity🎯 Direct Product Impact
Poolside only
🌐 Remote-Friendly🤝 Flat Hierarchy🧩 Wears Many Hats🌱 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
Poolside
- Remote-first with monthly Paris gatherings
- Cutting-edge code generation research
- Early-stage with limited structure
- Comp may trail larger AI labs
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.
Poolside
Choose Poolside if you want cutting-edge code AI research on a remote-first flat team (ex-GitHub CTO leadership) — but expect early-stage ambiguity and comp that trails the larger AI labs.
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
Poolside — 12 jobs
💻 Engineering
9
📊 Data
2
🧠 ML / AI
1
Summary
Cognition scores 3.8/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 3.2 work-life balance rating. Poolside scores 3.8/5.0 overall with a 3.5 WLB. They’re tied on overall satisfaction.
Both companies share these culture values: Engineering-Driven. Cognition also emphasizes Ship Fast & Iterate, Strong Comp & Equity, Direct Product Impact. Poolside also emphasizes Remote-Friendly, Flat Hierarchy, Wears Many Hats, Learning & Growth.
On the hiring front, Cognition has 62 open roles and Poolside has 12 open roles.