Cognition
Medium (~300)
Scale AI
Large (~1,200)
Best For
Cognition
Best for: Elite engineers who want to build frontier AI coding agents and own a meaningful equity stake
Scale AI
Best for: Ambitious builders who want critical AI infrastructure work serving top-tier clients
Ratings
CognitionScale AI
3.8
3.5
Overall
3.2
2.7
Work-Life Balance
3.9
2.9
Culture & Values
3.8
3.5
Comp & Benefits
3.6
2.8
Senior Mgmt
3.6
3.6
Career Opps
👍 76% Recommend
👤 80% CEO Approval (Scott Wu)
👍 56% Recommend
👤 60% CEO Approval (Alexandr Wang)
Culture Values
Cognition only
💎 Strong Comp & Equity
Scale AI only
🌱 Learning & Growth
Shared
⚙️ Engineering-Driven🚀 Ship Fast & Iterate🎯 Direct Product Impact
Pros & Cons
Cognition
- Elite engineering team with strong equity
- Cutting-edge AI agent work
- High-intensity startup pace
- In-person SF expectations
Scale AI
- Building critical AI data infrastructure used by OpenAI, Meta, Microsoft, and the US government
- Strong compensation for engineers — competitive base + equity
- Work-life balance rated 2.7/5 — long hours common during client deadlines
- Culture and values scored 2.9/5 — inconsistent management quality
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.
Scale AI
Choose Scale AI if you want to build data infrastructure for OpenAI and the US government — but expect long hours and inconsistent management.
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
Scale AI — 175 jobs
💻 Engineering
64
🧠 ML / AI
25
📋 Product
16
💼 Sales / GTM
14
⚙️ Operations
7
⚖️ Legal
5
📣 Marketing
4
📊 Data
2
💰 Finance
2
👤 HR / People
2
🎨 Design
1
🎧 Support
1
Summary
Cognition scores 3.8/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 3.2 work-life balance rating. Scale AI scores 3.5/5.0 overall with a 2.7 WLB. That’s a 0.3-point gap on overall satisfaction.
Both companies share these culture values: Engineering-Driven, Ship Fast & Iterate, Direct Product Impact. Cognition also emphasizes Strong Comp & Equity. Scale AI also emphasizes Learning & Growth.
On the hiring front, Cognition has 62 open roles and Scale AI has 175 open roles.