
Business Operations at Cognition (San Francisco, CA)
Cognition· San Francisco, CA·
Role details
Cognition at a glance
Applied AI lab behind Devin, the autonomous AI software engineer, and the Windsurf IDE.
Cognition is an applied AI lab building autonomous software engineering agents. Its flagship, Devin, plans, writes, tests, and ships production code inside a customer's own codebase and tooling. After acquiring Windsurf in 2025, it also runs the Windsurf AI-native IDE as a synchronous complement to Devin's async agent work.
$1.5B+ raised · latest: Series D · $1B+ · $26B valuation · May 2026 · backed by Lux Capital, General Catalyst, 8VC, Founders Fund
Summary
Operate as a high-trust generalist within the Business Operations team, managing cross-functional projects end-to-end. The role involves building relationships across the organization, identifying inefficiencies, and driving results on tight timelines while working directly with leadership.
Job description
WE ARE AN APPLIED AI LAB BUILDING END-TO-END SOFTWARE AGENTS.
We're the makers of Devin, the first AI software engineer.
Our team is extremely talent-dense. Among our founding team, we have world-class competitive programmers, former founders, and leaders from companies at the cutting edge of AI including Scale AI, Palantir, Cursor, Waymo, Tesla, Lunchclub, Modal, Google DeepMind, and Nuro.
Building Devin is just the first step—our hardest challenges still lie ahead. If you’re excited to solve some of the world’s biggest problems and build AI that can reason on real-world tasks, apply to join us.
ABOUT THE ROLE
You'll operate as a high-trust generalist, embedded in different parts of the business depending on where you're needed. Projects will vary: standing up new business lines, building analytics infrastructure alongside engineering, supporting corporate development efforts, or helping teams navigate critical transitions. Scope and ownership will be significant. You'll be expected to move fast, drive outcomes, and operate with high autonomy.
This is a role for someone who wants to be close to the hardest problems at a company moving very quickly. You'll work directly with leadership and build relationships across every function. The path from here leads to functional leadership for those who want it.
Core Responsibilities
- Own cross-functional projects end-to-end, from scoping through execution
- Build relationships across the organization and become a trusted operator that teams want to work with
- Identify gaps, inefficiencies, and opportunities before they become obvious
- Drive results on tight timelines without sacrificing quality or detail
- Pull and analyze data to inform decisions and track progress
- Communicate clearly with stakeholders ranging from engineers to executives
- Pick up whatever needs doing, even when it's outside your comfort zone
What We Value
- Low ego. You care about outcomes, not credit or optics.
- Speed and precision. You move fast without dropping details.
- Trust-building. People want to work with you after the first interaction.
- Proactive ownership. You see problems and fix them without being asked.
- Analytical rigor. You're comfortable with data and use it to drive decisions.
- Grit. You don't quit when the work gets tedious or the problem gets hard.
Requirements
- Relevant experience in consulting, investment banking, or operations at a high-growth technology company
- Demonstrated ability to operate autonomously and deliver results without close supervision
- Strong analytical foundation
- Ability to communicate credibly with both technical and non-technical teams
- Track record of exceptional performance in whatever you've pursued
- High tolerance for ambiguity, context-switching, and intensity
You might excel if you...
- Have a technical degree (CS, engineering, math, physics) even if you took a non-technical career path
- Worked as an early employee at a startup where you operated well beyond your job description
- Have been a Chief of Staff or BizOps lead at a scaling company
- Care deeply about building teams and culture, not just processes
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
Cognition is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities throughout the hiring process - please let us know if you need any.
Why work at Cognition
- Culture: “Talent-dense,” interdisciplinary, low-ego, and urgency-driven. The team works on “the hardest problems in AI” and values shipping real impact.
- Work model: Hybrid/office-first with major hubs in San Francisco, New York, Austin, London, Singapore, Tokyo, and others. Many roles list specific locations, suggesting in-office presence is expected.
- Benefits: Comprehensive medical, dental, vision insurance; unlimited PTO; meals in primary offices; wellness stipend; commuter benefits; 401(k); HSA/FSA; fertility and family building support.
- Engineering culture: Strong emphasis on applied AI, customer proximity (“we work alongside our customers”), and building infrastructure that redefines software engineering.