The Cognitive

Run your hardest open role yourself.

Build the brief below, then try 10 searches yourself: 10 people your search never showed, one line on why each fits.

Free trial: 7 days, no card, 100 people. That's 10 searches of 10 people.

Build your brief Start free trial: 7 days, no card

01How it works

1

Build your brief below

Fill in the form. The brief writes itself as you type. Be specific on the must-haves and the location. Those two decide who comes back.

2

Copy it and paste it in

Start the free trial and paste the brief in: app.thecognitive.io/signup. Each search shows 10 people.

3

Try 10 searches yourself

Each person comes back with a Strong match or Possible match label and one line on why they fit. Then change one thing and search again: a nearby title, a wider drive, a must-have moved to nice-to-have. The trial covers 10 searches of 10 people.

02Build your brief

Nothing here is sent anywhere. It stays in your browser until you copy it.

Your brief

    

    
Then paste it into the free trial (step 2 above).

  






  
03What one search returns

  
One search of 10 people, for a made-up role: Embedded Software Engineer, medical devices, Minneapolis.

  

    
10 PEOPLE · WHY EACH FITS Example, people are made up

    
J
Firmware EngineerStrong match
Insulin pump maker · Plymouth
Six years of C on Cortex-M pumps, shipped two releases under design controls.

    
A
Embedded DeveloperStrong match
Hearing aid maker · Eden Prairie
Builds the Bluetooth Low Energy stack on a Class II device; works on an RTOS daily.

    
R
Controls EngineerStrong match
Lab analyser maker · St. Paul
Title hides it: writes the instrument firmware in C++ and owns its test scripts.

    
M
Senior Software EngineerStrong match
Cardiac device maker · Arden Hills
Pacing device firmware, RTOS, wrote the release documents for a Class III product.

    
T
Embedded Systems EngineerStrong match
Surgical robotics start-up · Minnetonka
Motor-control firmware in C on microcontrollers; joined from a regulated pump team.

    
K
Firmware Engineer IIStrong match
Glucose monitor maker · Maple Grove
Sensor firmware on a shipped wearable, Bluetooth Low Energy, Python test rigs.

    
D
Software Engineer, DevicesPossible match
Patient monitor maker · Bloomington
Strong C and RTOS work; device is not yet cleared, so no shipped regulated release.

    
S
Embedded EngineerPossible match
Industrial sensor maker · Shoreview
Cortex-M and RTOS for eight years; no medical device work yet.

    
L
Test EngineerPossible match
Neurostimulation device maker · Fridley
Writes firmware test code in C for a Class III product; wants to move into development.

    
P
Electrical EngineerPossible match
Dental imaging maker · Chaska
Board bring-up and low-level C on a cleared device; firmware is half of the job.

  

  

    
The search to run

    
The brief behind that list. For your next 9 searches, change one line at a time.

    
Embedded Software Engineer, senior (6-9 years), for a medical device company in Minneapolis.
The work: write and test firmware for a wearable infusion pump, from board bring-up to release.
Must-haves:
1. C or C++ on microcontrollers
2. Has shipped firmware on a regulated medical device
3. Has worked with an RTOS
Nice-to-haves, in order: Bluetooth Low Energy; Class II or III devices; Python test scripts.
Location: Minneapolis, hybrid 3 days. People must live within 45 minutes' drive.
Avoid: Linux app developers with no hardware work.
Include people whose title says Controls, Test or Electrical Engineer if they write firmware.

  






  
04Run it yourself now

  
The same brief works in The Cognitive. The free trial covers 10 searches of 10 people.

  

    
    
      
  1. 1
    Paste the brief you built above and run the search.
    2. 
      
  2. 2
    Open the strong matches first. Read the reason under each one.
    3. 
      
  3. 3
    Shortlist the ones you like, pass on the rest, and ask for more people for the same role.
    4. 
      
  4. 4
    Change one line of the brief and search again. Try 10 searches before you judge the market.
    5. 
      
  5. 5
    Get the email and phone for the people you pick.
    6. 
    

    Start free trial: 7 days, no card
    
Free trial: 7 days, 100 credits, no card.

  






  

    
Try 10 searches yourself.

    
Build your brief, paste it in and see who comes back. 7 days, 100 people, no card.

  

  

    Start free trial: 7 days, no card
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