---
title: 'Senior Software Engineer, Backend at Cognitiv'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-backend-cognitiv-bellevue-bv7hnj2dppcm'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-14'
---

# Senior Software Engineer, Backend at Cognitiv

- **Company:** Cognitiv
- **Location:** Bellevue, WA
- **Posted:** 2026-09-08
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-14
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/cognitiv/jobs/4398608009

## Job description

Are you ready to revolutionize the advertising industry?

At Cognitiv, we are not just another AdTech company—we are industry trailblazers redefining media buying with our Deep Learning Advertising Platform. Since 2015, we have harnessed the power of cutting-edge deep learning technology and data science to transform how brands connect with their customers. Our mission? To bring intelligence to advertising and deliver unparalleled precision, relevance, and impact at scale.

With our innovative platform, advertisers enjoy unprecedented flexibility—whether it is activating Dynamic Deals through their preferred DSP, leveraging our managed service DSP, or utilizing our industry-first ContextGPT product. As a part of Cognitiv, you will be at the forefront of AI-driven advertising solutions, driving change and achieving remarkable growth in a rapidly evolving industry.

Now, we’re growing!

## The Role

As a Senior Software Engineer, you will own the design, delivery, and reliability of the systems powering our next-generation, pixel-less ad targeting platform. You’ll translate complex requirements into scalable systems, navigating ambiguity and making the critical tradeoffs necessary to drive system performance and engineering effectiveness.

In this role, you’ll own the design and delivery of backend solutions that support ContextGPT integrations, helping the platform scale across new partners, supply sources, and capabilities. You’ll work closely with other engineers and cross-functional partners to solve complex technical problems, make thoughtful tradeoffs, and deliver reliable solutions that support product and business growth.

This position will be located in Bellevue with a hybrid work schedule of 3 days in office (Mon/Tue/Wed) and 2 days remote optional (Thursday/Friday).

## Your Impact

In this role, success is measured by the reliability, scalability, and performance of our platform. You will:

- Lead Technical Design: Own the end-to-end design and delivery of .NET Core backend services and APIs that power ContextGPT, proactively accounting for scalability, performance, failure modes, and security as the platform grows across the ad-tech ecosystem.
- Elevate Reliability: Identify bottlenecks and improve system observability (metrics, logging, monitoring). You will lead blameless post-mortems and implement long-term systemic fixes to prevent incident recurrence.
- Drive Engineering Excellence: Strengthen the team through high-quality code reviews, technical mentorship, and the creation of exemplary technical artifacts (design docs, diagrams).
- Navigate Ambiguity: Exercise strong judgment to resolve unknowns and balance long-term system health with rapid development velocity.
- Collaborate on Direction: Partner with Product and Engineering leadership to align technical solutions with business priorities and roadmap requirements.

Required Experience & Capabilities

- Ownership, Drive & Agency: You identify systemic problems, create solutions without waiting for direction, and drive execution through influence rather than authority.
- System Design: Proven track record of designing, decomposing, and delivering high-scale production services or distributed systems.
- Technical Proficiency: Strong programming skills in .NET Core or another strongly typed backend language such as Java or Kotlin, with experience building APIs, services, or data pipelines.
- Operational Mindset: Deep understanding of system reliability, observability, and "up-front" design for maintainability.
- Curiosity: You’re naturally curious and eager to understand how things work. You ask thoughtful questions, dig into unfamiliar systems and problems, and look beyond the immediate task to identify root causes and opportunities for improvement.
- Communication: Clear ability to explain technical tradeoffs and decisions.

Bonus Points If You Have:

- Experience designing large-scale distributed systems serving high-throughput production workloads
- Deep experience building platform services or developer infrastructure used across multiple engineering teams
- AdTech or programmatic advertising experience
- Experience leading major partner integrations or platform expansion initiatives
- Startup or high-growth company experience
- Expertise with CI/CD, infrastructure automation, and engineering productivity tooling
- Hands-on experience with .NET Core, AWS, RDS, ClickHouse, Datadog, or similar technologies

Salary: $160,000 - $210,000 USD + Equity

## What We Offer

Compensation is based on experience, skills, and other factors. Base salary is just one part of your total rewards at Cognitiv—you’ll also receive equity and a comprehensive benefits package.

Highlights include:

- Medical, Dental and Vision plan for US employees & Extended Health Benefits for Canadian employees
- 12 weeks paid parental leave + 4 weeks WFH
- Unlimited PTO + Work-From-Anywhere August
- Career development with clear advancement paths
- Equity for all employees
- Hybrid work model & daily team lunch
- Health & wellness stipend + cell phone reimbursement
- 401(k) & RRSP with employer match
- Parking (CA, WA, Vancouver offices) & pre-tax commuter benefits
- Employee Assistance Program
- Comprehensive onboarding (Cognitiv University)
- …and more!

## What You’ll Find at Cognitiv

- Festiv – We make work fun with cross-team games, events, and creative team bonding.
- Responsiv – You’ll be close to clients and leadership, influencing real outcomes.
- Inclusiv – Diversity and individuality are celebrated across all levels.
- Inventiv – We reward curiosity and embrace bold ideas.
- Transformativ – We support your growth with training, mentorship, and flexibility.
- Collaborativ – We operate across coasts, connected by purpose and teamwork.

Cognitiv is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive workplace for all.

Note on AI Use: Cognitiv may use AI technology to assist with certain administrative aspects of the hiring process, such as note-taking, interview documentation, and reporting. However, every resume and application is reviewed directly by our recruiting team. AI tools are used solely for operational support and do not influence candidate evaluation or hiring decisions.

## About Cognitiv

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Cognitiv is a deep learning advertising company that uses custom AI to predict consumer behavior and drive full-funnel marketing performance at scale.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Seed / Convertible Note stage, ~$5M total funding)
- **Headquarters**: New York, New York, United States
- **Founded**: 2015
- **Founders**: Jeremy Fain (CEO & Co‑Founder), Aaron Andalman (CTO & Co‑Founder), Marc Hudacsko (Co‑Founder)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Advertising Services / AI‑Powered Marketing (AdTech)
- **Target customers**: Enterprise brands and advertisers (B2B)
- **Mission**: “Bring intelligence to advertising” by delivering transformative marketing solutions through deep learning.

## Products & Services
- **Deep Learning Advertising Platform (DLAP)**: Proprietary AI platform that predicts consumer behavior in real time and self‑drives performance across channels. Advertisers can activate via the DSP of their choice, a managed‑service DSP, or the ContextGPT tool.
- **ContextGPT™**: Industry‑first chat‑based contextual targeting tool that reads full page content, understands nuance and sentiment, and enables brand‑safe, precise ad placement at scale.
- **Performance CTV**: Cross‑device ID graph to target and measure prospects on connected TV channels, optimized with deep learning.
- **Curation (Deep Learning DSP)**: Access to neural‑network algorithms that create dynamic Private Marketplaces in any DSP, tailored to each brand’s campaign needs.
- **Real‑time Optimization (ContextGPT for full funnel)**: Analyzes users and context in real time to drive KPIs across awareness, consideration, and conversion.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total funding of ~$4.95M (Angel, Seed, Convertible Notes) as of March 2019
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Investor names not disclosed in available sources
- **Growth Signals**: 
  - Headcount: ~155 – 170 employees (LinkedIn reports 155, +12.8% YoY; Built In lists 170)
  - 5 offices: New York (HQ), Bellevue, San Mateo, Chicago, Vancouver
  - 85%+ VCR outperformance; 60% more efficient CPA; 28% exceedance of CTR benchmarks (self‑reported on website)

## Competitive Advantages
- **Proprietary deep‑learning technology** built in‑house since 2015, offering a moat vs. rules‑based or simple ML ad platforms.
- **ContextGPT** – the first chat‑based contextual targeting tool on the market, providing nuanced, brand‑safe targeting at scale.
- **Flexible activation** – works across any DSP (“Dynamic Deal”), managed‑service DSP, or own contextual tool, reducing lock‑in for advertisers.
- **Full‑funnel capability** from reach to incrementality, across mobile, desktop, and CTV.

## Strategic Focus
- **Expand ContextGPT** as a differentiated product for brand‑safe, scalable contextual targeting.
- **Deepen AI capabilities**, especially for CTV and cross‑device measurement.
- **Scale partnerships** and self‑service adoption to grow market share in programmatic advertising.

## Why Work Here
- **Hybrid work model**: In‑office Monday–Wednesday, remote Thursday–Friday, plus “Work from Anywhere August.”
- **Unlimited PTO** and strong work/life balance emphasis.
- **Equity for all employees** – every team member receives stock options.
- **Perks**: Daily lunch reimbursement, cell phone reimbursement, fitness/health reimbursement, 401k employer match.
- **Career development**: Clearly defined career ladders for every team, comprehensive manager training, and monthly house competitions that foster cross‑office bonding.
- **Culture**: Described as collaborative and fun, with a focus on deep learning innovation and employee growth.

## Sources
1. [cognitiv.ai](https://www.cognitiv.ai/)
2. [cognitiv.ai/about-us](https://www.cognitiv.ai/about-us)
3. [builtin.com/company/cognitiv](https://builtin.com/company/cognitiv)
4. [linkedin.com/company/cognitiv](https://www.linkedin.com/company/cognitiv)
5. [job-boards.greenhouse.io/cognitiv](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/cognitiv)

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