Cognition
Medium (~300)
Sierra
Large (~500)
Best For
Cognition
Best for: Elite engineers who want to build frontier AI coding agents and own a meaningful equity stake
Sierra
Best for: Builders who want to work with proven Salesforce and Google leadership on enterprise AI agents
Ratings
CognitionSierra
3.8
4.0
Overall
3.2
3.5
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 (Bret Taylor)
Culture Values
Cognition only
🎯 Direct Product Impact
Sierra only
🌱 Learning & Growth
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
Sierra
- Elite founders with proven track records
- Strong equity at $10B valuation
- In-person-first culture
- Competitive intensity may not suit everyone
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.
Sierra
Choose Sierra if you want elite founders (Bret Taylor, Clay Bavor) and strong equity at a $10B enterprise AI company — but it's in-person-first and the competitive intensity won't suit everyone.
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
Sierra — 134 jobs
💻 Engineering
42
💼 Sales / GTM
27
📋 Product
15
👤 HR / People
7
🎨 Design
5
⚖️ Legal
5
📣 Marketing
5
⚙️ Operations
5
📊 Data
2
💰 Finance
1
Summary
Cognition scores 3.8/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 3.2 work-life balance rating. Sierra scores 4.0/5.0 overall with a 3.5 WLB. That’s a 0.2-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. Sierra also emphasizes Learning & Growth.
On the hiring front, Cognition has 62 open roles and Sierra has 134 open roles.