Cognition
Medium (~300)
Tailscale
Small (~290)
Best For
Cognition
Best for: Elite engineers who want to build frontier AI coding agents and own a meaningful equity stake
Tailscale
Best for: Systems engineers who value location-equal pay, generous parental leave, and working on deeply technical networking problems
Ratings
CognitionTailscale
3.8
4.4
Overall
3.2
4.5
Work-Life Balance
3.9
4.5
Culture & Values
3.8
4.4
Comp & Benefits
3.6
4.2
Senior Mgmt
3.6
4.2
Career Opps
👍 76% Recommend
👤 80% CEO Approval (Scott Wu)
👍 88% Recommend
👤 92% CEO Approval (Avery Pennarun)
Culture Values
Cognition only
🚀 Ship Fast & Iterate🎯 Direct Product Impact
Tailscale only
🌐 Remote-Friendly⚖️ Work-Life Balance🌈 Diverse & Inclusive🪟 Transparent
Shared
⚙️ Engineering-Driven💎 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
Tailscale
- Same pay worldwide with 26 weeks parental leave and genuine work-life balance
- Brilliant, nerdy CEO who deeply understands the tech — culture is intellectual and respectful
- Career progression limited — only 3.0/5 on career opportunities
- Middle management still developing — some growing pains as the org scales
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.
Tailscale
Intellectual, engineer-led culture with same pay worldwide and 26 weeks parental leave — but career progression is limited and middle management is still maturing.
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
Tailscale — 52 jobs
💻 Engineering
25
💼 Sales / GTM
11
⚙️ Operations
4
📋 Product
4
📊 Data
2
🎨 Design
2
📣 Marketing
2
Summary
Cognition scores 3.8/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 3.2 work-life balance rating. Tailscale scores 4.4/5.0 overall with a 4.5 WLB. That’s a 0.6-point gap on overall satisfaction.
Both companies share these culture values: Engineering-Driven, Strong Comp & Equity. Cognition also emphasizes Ship Fast & Iterate, Direct Product Impact. Tailscale also emphasizes Remote-Friendly, Work-Life Balance, Diverse & Inclusive, Transparent.
On the hiring front, Cognition has 62 open roles and Tailscale has 52 open roles.