Software Engineer - Frontend (Staff+)

Cogent; San Francisco, New York (CA, NY); Hybrid; USD 100,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

Cogent in San Francisco is seeking a Staff Frontend Engineer to own the frontend platform for visualizing and acting on complex security data. You’ll define architecture, build golden libraries, and ship AI-enabled customer features, while guiding a growing team of frontend engineers.

You should have operated at Staff+ level, 5+ years of experience, and deep expertise in React, TypeScript, and modern web app architecture. The role emphasizes craftsmanship and autonomous ownership.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional software engineering experience.
• Deep expertise in React and TypeScript.
• Experience with frontend infrastructure and libraries.

Responsibilities

• Define Frontend Architecture – Establish core architecture and patterns for web applications.
• Build Golden Libraries & Platform – Create reusable component libraries and tooling.
• Build AI-Driven, User-Focused Features – Design and deliver features that integrate AI capabilities.
• Mentor and Influence – Mentor and lead future frontend engineers; help grow the team.
• Drive Engineering Craftsmanship – Maintain high standards of code quality and thoughtful design.

Skills

React

TypeScript

Frontend architecture

Component libraries

Build systems

Performance tuning

Mentoring

Team leadership

Job description

About Cogent

Cogent is an Applied AI Lab building the next generation of AI agents for cybersecurity. AI has fundamentally changed how attacks happen, allowing malicious actors to operate at unprecedented speed and scale. Cogent’s "AI Taskforce" assesses petabytes of enterprise data to remediate these issues before critical breaches occur.

To stay at the cutting edge, we blend frontier research with real-world execution. Alongside our core product work, Cogent Research serves as our applied AI lab, providing the research horsepower needed to make truly agentic security workflows a reality.

Since coming out of stealth, Cogent has experienced rapid growth. We partner with Fortune 500 companies to secure some of the most complex production environments in the world.

We’re backed by Greylock and we’ve built a team with the best minds in applied AI. Our team is comprised of people from:

• Top universities like Stanford, Berkeley, Penn, Duke, Carnegie Mellon, Waterloo

• Unicorn, high-growth companies like Scale AI, Databricks, Stripe, Tesla, Coinbase

• World class cybersecurity experts from Wiz, Abnormal AI, Zscaler

• Preeminent research labs like Deepmind and SAIL

About the Role

As a Staff Frontend Engineer, you will own the frontend platform and experience that enables customers to visualize, understand, and act on complex security data with confidence.

This is a Staff+ caliber role: you’ve operated at least at Staff, Senior Staff, or Principal Frontend Engineer level at some point in your career, and you’re excited to set the technical direction for a brand-new platform. You will design the frontend infrastructure, build “golden” component libraries, and make the platform AI-friendly, all while continuing to ship customer-facing features.

You’ll combine deep architectural thinking with hands‑on development, ensuring that our frontend stack is both elegant and resilient as we scale. Over time, you’ll help mentor other frontend engineers and we will build a team around the foundations you create.

What You’ll Do

• Define Frontend Architecture – Establish the core architecture and patterns for our web applications, laying the foundation for long-term scalability and performance.

• Build Golden Libraries & Platform – Create reusable component libraries and tooling that set the standard for quality and enable rapid, consistent development across the team.

• Build AI-Driven, User-Focused Features – While setting up core frontend infrastructure, design and deliver high-impact features that seamlessly integrate AI-powered capabilities, ensuring clarity, usability, and reliability for complex security workflows.

• Mentor and Influence – Serve as a mentor and technical leader for future frontend engineers; help us grow a team that values craftsmanship and excellence.

• Drive Engineering Craftsmanship – Uphold high standards of code quality, attention to detail, and thoughtful design. Balance speed with sustainable engineering practices.

About You

• Have operated at Staff+ level (Staff, Senior Staff, or Principal Frontend Engineer) at some point in your career.

• 5+ years of professional software engineering experience

• Deep expertise in React, TypeScript, and modern web application architecture.

• Strong background in frontend infrastructure—component libraries, build systems, state management, and performance optimization.

• Demonstrated ability to work autonomously, owning projects end-to-end with minimal oversight

• Exceptional attention to detail and a passion for engineering craftsmanship.

• Excellent collaboration and communication skills; thrive in fast‑paced, high‑impact environments.

For California Based Applicants

The standard base salary range for this position is $100,000 - $300,000 annually. Compensation offered will be determined by factors such as location, job level, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Certain roles may be eligible for variable compensation, equity, and benefits.

We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse company. We do not discriminate based on gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, civil or family status, age, disability, or race.