Cognition
Medium (~300)
Wayve
Mid (~850)
Best For
Cognition
Best for: Elite engineers who want to build frontier AI coding agents and own a meaningful equity stake
Wayve
Best for: ML and robotics engineers excited by embodied AI who want to work at the frontier of autonomous driving with a high-caliber research team in London
Ratings
CognitionWayve
3.8
4.4
Overall
3.2
3.9
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 (Amar Shah)
Culture Values
Cognition only
💎 Strong Comp & Equity
Wayve only
🌱 Learning & Growth🌈 Diverse & Inclusive
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
Wayve
- Great culture — smart, friendly people with a supportive and inclusive familial bond
- Immense creative freedom and autonomy; founders are humble and open to being challenged
- Career progression framework is unclear — salaries and promotions feel arbitrary
- Very ambitious demands create vulnerability to burnout; processes built on the fly
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.
Wayve
One of Europe's top deep-tech companies with excellent Glassdoor ratings (4.4) and a cutting-edge AV research environment — but expect an intense pace and most roles are London-based.
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
Wayve — 80 jobs
💻 Engineering
48
⚙️ Operations
6
🧠 ML / AI
4
📋 Product
3
📊 Data
2
⚖️ Legal
2
👤 HR / People
1
📣 Marketing
1
Summary
Cognition scores 3.8/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 3.2 work-life balance rating. Wayve scores 4.4/5.0 overall with a 3.9 WLB. That’s a 0.6-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. Wayve also emphasizes Learning & Growth, Diverse & Inclusive.
On the hiring front, Cognition has 62 open roles and Wayve has 80 open roles.