Cognition Internship 2027–2028: What to Know About the AI Startup Behind Devin

Last updated: July 2026

Cognition went from $1M to $492M ARR in roughly 20 months, making it one of the fastest revenue ramps in enterprise software history. The company behind Devin, the first autonomous AI software engineer, is valued at $26B after a $1B Series D in May 2026. There is no formal internship program yet, but with 78+ open roles across five departments and a founding team that includes 10 IOI gold medalists, the talent bar and the opportunity are both extraordinary.

Quick Facts

Cognition does not run a formal internship program as of July 2026. The company is still small enough (roughly 35 pre-acquisition, now scaling fast) that any opportunity would come through the General Application on Ashby or an exceptional referral. Full-time SWE base runs $260K to $300K with significant early-stage equity, so comparable AI lab interns would likely earn $60 to $75 per hour if a program materializes.

Externships are short, remote projects where you finish real work for a real company. The Wayfair AI Agent Engineering Externship and Beats by Dre Data Analytics Externship build the AI agent and data skills that match what Cognition's engineering team ships every day. Explore all Externships.

What Is a Cognition Internship?

Cognition is the AI startup behind Devin, the first autonomous AI software engineer, and Windsurf, the agentic IDE acquired from Codeium in July 2025 for roughly $250M. Founded in 2023 by Scott Wu, Walden Yan, and Steven Hao, a founding team with 10 International Olympiad in Informatics gold medals, Cognition reached $492M ARR by May 2026 and a $26B valuation after raising $2.1B across four rounds. The company does not currently run a formal internship program, but its rapid scaling from 35 to hundreds of employees and 78+ open roles suggests one could emerge. Any opportunity at Cognition means working alongside a team where 21 of the first 35 employees were former founders, on products deployed at Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Citibank, and thousands of other companies. The interview for full-time engineering roles is a full-day build challenge: construct your own AI agent from scratch in eight hours.

When Do Cognition Internship Applications Open for 2027–2028?

Cognition does not have a published internship timeline because no formal program exists yet. For full-time engineering roles, the company hires on a rolling basis through its Ashby job board. If an intern program materializes for summer 2027, expect postings to appear in fall 2026 as the company scales past 78+ open roles. The practical advice: monitor cognition.com/careers starting September 2026, and spend the months before that building the AI agent and competitive programming portfolio that matches Cognition's culture. The full-time interview is an 8-hour build challenge, so the preparation window is the product.

Why You Must Apply the Week Applications Open

There is no application window to time because Cognition has no intern program yet, and that is exactly the point. The company is three years old, scaled from 35 to hundreds of employees, and is hiring across 78+ roles. When a startup this early and this well-funded starts formalizing talent pipelines, the first cohort of interns gets outsized access: smaller teams, founder proximity, and projects that shape the product rather than polish its edges. The move now is to build the portfolio that makes you undeniable when the posting appears. That means AI agent projects you can demo, competitive programming results you can cite, and shipped production code you can walk through in an 8-hour build challenge. Monitor cognition.com/careers weekly starting September 2026, and if you have an inside connection, a referral into the General Application is the most realistic path while formal listings do not exist.

Which Cognition Internship Programs Should You Target?

Cognition has zero formal internship tracks as of July 2026. The following table maps the company's department structure to the roles an intern program would most likely include, based on the 78+ open full-time positions and the company's product focus on AI coding agents and developer tools.

Check the Cognition careers page for any new intern postings. The General Application on Ashby is currently the only path for candidates who do not see a specific listing that fits.

What Are the Eligibility Requirements?

Cognition has no published intern eligibility criteria. The following is inferred from full-time SWE job descriptions and the company's hiring culture:

• Education: degree from a top-tier university (BS, MS, or equivalent) in Computer Science, Mathematics, or Engineering. The founding team's academic pedigree (IOI gold medalists, Harvard) sets the cultural expectation.

• Technical bar: strong Python proficiency, systems engineering depth, and experience with LLMs, agents, or AI-powered systems. The full-time SWE posting asks for a track record of shipping production code quickly with quality.

• Competitive programming: not formally required, but deeply embedded in the culture. The founding team includes 3x IOI gold medalist Scott Wu (Codeforces peak 3350). USACO Platinum+, Codeforces 2000+, or IOI/ICPC experience is valued.

• Work authorization: H-1B is sponsored for full-time roles with a 100% approval rate in FY2024 and FY2026. Intern visa sponsorship (J-1, CPT, OPT) is unknown since no intern program exists.

• Location: on-site in San Francisco is required for engineering roles. The company has additional offices in NYC, Austin, London, Singapore, and Tokyo, but core engineering sits in SF.

What Does Founder-Level Capability Actually Mean?

Twenty-one of Cognition's first 35 employees were former founders. The company's CEO describes the culture as requiring an opt-in to intensity: long hours, high ambiguity, and extreme self-direction. The full-time SWE interview is an 8-hour challenge to build your own AI agent from scratch. For an intern candidate, this means your application needs to demonstrate not just technical skill but the ability to independently scope, build, and ship a complete system. Side projects where you built and deployed an AI agent, published competitive programming results, or founded something of your own carry more signal than coursework alone.

What Skills Does Cognition Look For, and How Do You Build Them?

Cognition has published only a handful of engineering job descriptions, but the signal is clear. Python dominates as the primary language of the codebase. Systems engineering depth, meaning distributed systems, correctness thinking, failure modes, and production behavior, appears in every technical posting. LLM and AI agent experience is table stakes, not a differentiator. And competitive programming, while not listed as a formal requirement, is woven into the company's DNA through the founding team's IOI and ICPC backgrounds. The skill that separates Cognition from other AI startups is the emphasis on building complete systems end-to-end: the interview literally asks you to build your own Devin in eight hours.

How Is Demand for AI Engineering Interns Moving Right Now?

Build These Skills Before You Apply

Cognition does not have intern roles yet, but every skill in that chart maps to a remote Externship where you finish a real project before the company opens its doors.

The Wayfair project is AI agent engineering work that produces the kind of end-to-end build Cognition's 8-hour interview challenge tests for, and the Beats project delivers the data analysis and evaluation thinking their research roles need.

What Is the Cognition Application and Interview Process Like?

Cognition has no formal intern hiring process. The following is based on the full-time SWE interview format, which would likely inform any future intern pipeline:

1. Submit via the General Application on cognition.com/careers. There is no intern-specific listing. Exceptional candidates with competitive programming medals, published AI research, or a strong referral are the most likely path in.

2. Resume and background screen. Cognition evaluates academic pedigree, prior experience at frontier AI labs or developer tools companies, and competitive programming credentials. The bar is founder-level capability.

3. Extended practical challenge (6 to 8 hours). The full-time interview is to build your own AI agent from scratch. CEO Scott Wu describes it as having people build their own Devin in eight hours. Intern interviews, if they existed, would likely follow a similar hands-on format.

4. Team fit and values conversations. Likely with founders or senior engineers. Cognition evaluates product instinct, comfort with ambiguity, and alignment with the company's intense, self-directed culture.

The preparation is the same whether you are targeting full-time or a hypothetical intern role: build a complete AI agent project you can demo, practice competitive programming at the Codeforces 2000+ level, and be ready to work through a full-day technical challenge without hand-holding. Cognition's interview data on Dataford shows a 5.4 out of 10 difficulty rating across 7 reports, with Python, AI agent systems, and debugging as the top tested skills.

What Students on Reddit Say

No Reddit threads discuss interning at Cognition specifically, because the company has no intern program. These threads cover Devin and the company's culture, all paraphrased.

How Do You Get In When There Is No Application?

Three moves, all before a posting exists. First, build a complete AI agent project and put it on GitHub: Cognition's interview literally asks full-time candidates to build their own Devin in eight hours, so having a working agent before you apply is the resume line that matters. Second, invest in competitive programming: with 10 IOI gold medalists on the founding team and a Codeforces culture baked into the company's DNA, a USACO Platinum placement or Codeforces 2000+ rating is a credibility signal that no coursework can replicate. Third, find an inside connection: with only 35 original employees (21 of whom were former founders) and no formal intern pipeline, a referral through the General Application is the most realistic path. Network at competitive programming events, AI meetups, and through alumni of the founding team's academic circles. And keep checking cognition.com/careers weekly, because when a company scaling this fast decides to formalize its intern pipeline, the first cohort will be tiny and first-movers will fill it.

What Other Companies Should You Consider?

If Cognition's AI agent focus and elite-team culture appeal to you, these companies operate at a similar frontier and are actively hiring interns:

Our tech internships summer 2027 guide maps the whole landscape, timeline by timeline.

FAQ

Does Cognition offer internships?

As of July 2026, Cognition does not have a formal internship program. The core engineering team was roughly 35 people before the Windsurf acquisition, and the company is only three years old. However, with 78+ open roles and rapid scaling, an intern program could emerge. Monitor cognition.com/careers starting fall 2026.

How do I apply to Cognition without an intern listing?

Use the General Application on Cognition's Ashby job board at cognition.com/careers. Exceptional candidates with competitive programming medals, published AI research, or a strong referral from someone inside the company are the most likely to be considered.

What is the Cognition interview like?

The full-time SWE interview involves building your own AI agent from scratch in 6 to 8 hours. CEO Scott Wu describes it as having people build their own Devin. Dataford reports a 5.4 out of 10 difficulty rating across 7 reports. An intern interview, if one existed, would likely follow a similar hands-on format.

How much would a Cognition internship pay?

No intern compensation data exists. Full-time SWE base salary ranges from $260,000 to $300,000 with significant early-stage equity at a $26B valuation. Comparable AI lab interns at Anthropic and OpenAI earn $60 to $75 per hour ($10,000 to $13,000 per month).

What makes Cognition so competitive?

The founding team includes 10 IOI gold medalists, 21 of the first 35 employees were former founders, and the company went from $1M to $492M ARR in 20 months. At a $26B valuation with products deployed at Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan, Cognition attracts top-tier talent globally.

Does Cognition sponsor visas?

Cognition sponsors H-1B visas for full-time roles with a 100% approval rate in FY2024 and FY2026. Intern visa sponsorship (J-1, CPT, OPT) is unknown because no intern program exists.

What happened with the Windsurf acquisition?

In July 2025, Cognition acquired Windsurf (formerly Codeium) for roughly $250M after OpenAI's $3B bid fell through and Google DeepMind paid $2.4B to license IP and hire key leadership. Cognition got the product, brand, business at $82M ARR, and the remaining team, significantly expanding its headcount and product surface.

Is Cognition's internship remote or in-person?

Engineering roles at Cognition require on-site presence in San Francisco. If an internship program launches, expect the same requirement. The company has additional offices in NYC, Austin, London, Singapore, and Tokyo, but core engineering is SF-based.

Cognition has no intern program yet, but the company is scaling faster than almost any AI startup in history. Build the portfolio now, because when 78+ roles become 150 and the first intern cohort opens, the window will be small and the bar will be high. A remote Externship turns that preparation into a finished AI project you can demo in an 8-hour build challenge.