# Alexander Dengler

Head of Research Operations at Cognition; ex-Google, Uber, Casper talent leader; co-founder of Reku and Matcha Mafia  
Cognition  
United States

## At Cognition

- Role: Member of Technical Staff (Engineering)
- Joined: Apr 2026
- How they joined: Directly
- Overlapped before Cognition with other Cognition people at: Google; Uber (https://www.autumn.ai/resources/cognition/worked-together)

## Identity
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexdengler

## Notes
- Current role per LinkedIn is Head of Research Operations at Cognition (since Oct 2026, described 'frontier research lab, compute'), after an Apr-Oct 2026 Talent role described 'building r&d'; the people index still lists him as 'Member of Technical Staff'. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexdengler)
- In March 2026, weeks before joining Cognition, he wrote that hiring velocity at early-stage AI companies was 'unlike anything I've seen since the peak of the last cycle, but sharper' after meeting AI companies in San Francisco, which reads as the thesis that led him from his own search firm Reku into an in-house AI lab. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/activity-7442278728090632192-Luj6?utm_source=social_share_send&utm_medium=member_desktop_web&rcm=ACoAAHCgV2oBUT2t_6Av1PZ_PpbmuodKyEMgpLA)
- A Cognition hire (LinkedIn user monjin) publicly thanked Ouliana Trofimenko, Alexander Dengler, Nicholas Schröder and Joseph Zhang for bringing her into Cognition, confirming his recruiting role on the Cognition team. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/monjin_little-life-update-after-almost-two-years-activity-7515790404454354944-3Pxf)
- Posted 'Excited to have hired another Alex to the team! Game changer! Now I get to build out his security org :)' on a share titled 'Why I'm joining Cognition'. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/alexdengler_why-im-joining-cognition-activity-7510842791065919488--8fI)
- Alexander Dengler has been holding up the fort in LA for Reku while Virginia Tirado was in the UK. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/virginiatirado_didyouknow-startups-recruiting-activity-7353393458662764547-pntR)
- Alexander Dengler is associated with Reku, which Virginia Tirado describes as a talent startup. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/virginiatirado_didyouknow-startups-recruiting-activity-7353393458662764547-pntR)
- Reku's mission is to reimagine recruitment for the AI era, combining human touch with data-led precision. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/virginiatirado_didyouknow-startups-recruiting-activity-7353393458662764547-pntR)
- Reku uses tools like Metaview, Ashby, juicebox, Wayfaster, hackajob, Social Talent to create a better and faster hiring experience. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/virginiatirado_didyouknow-startups-recruiting-activity-7353393458662764547-pntR)
- Reku onboarded new clients during the month described in the post. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/virginiatirado_didyouknow-startups-recruiting-activity-7353393458662764547-pntR)
- Alex Dengler is a co-founder of Reku along with Virginia Tirado. (https://luma.com/thelagrindfounderdinner1)
- Alex Dengler and Virginia Tirado, Reku's co-founders, were slated to join the founder dinner. (https://luma.com/thelagrindfounderdinner1)
- Reku, the event's sponsor, helps high-growth tech companies in the US and Europe find the right people, faster, and is natively AI from day one. (https://luma.com/thelagrindfounderdinner1)
- Reku has a growing team of consultants across the U.S., Europe, and soon in Latin America. (https://humansoffuzia.com/interview/virginia-tirado-supporting-founders-to-build-scalable-teams-and-shape-the-future-of-business/)
- Reku was launched earlier this year, according to the interview. (https://humansoffuzia.com/interview/virginia-tirado-supporting-founders-to-build-scalable-teams-and-shape-the-future-of-business/)
- Reku has been focusing on supporting early-stage businesses with scaling their engineering and technical teams. (https://humansoffuzia.com/interview/virginia-tirado-supporting-founders-to-build-scalable-teams-and-shape-the-future-of-business/)
- Alexander Dengler stated he was not looking for a new role before joining Illuvium. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/alexdengler_illuvium-activity-6833683299802714113-VCbf)
- Alexander Dengler said he is excited to help build Illuvium into the world's first AAA blockchain game studio. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/alexdengler_illuvium-activity-6833683299802714113-VCbf)
- Alexander Dengler stated that Illuvium will launch at the end of 2021. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/alexdengler_illuvium-activity-6833683299802714113-VCbf)
- Alexander Dengler is an Investor, Core Contributor, and Head of Recruiting at Illuvium. (https://startupintros.com/people/alexander-dengler)
- Public headline says "building what’s next". (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexdengler)
- Public headline says "building what’s next". (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexdengler)
- life connected; this comes from the profile summary and preserves the person's own positioning. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexdengler)
- life connected; this comes from the profile summary and preserves the person's own positioning. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexdengler)
- Previous roles include Talent at Cognition; Co-Founder at Reku; Owner at Matcha Mafia; VP of Talent at Casper; Recruiting Manager, EMEA at Uber; Head of Recruitment at Osborne & Partners; Sr. Recruiter, APAC at Google; Sr. Recruiter, Creative Lab and US Sales at Google. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexdengler)
- Education history includes Bachelor of Arts (BA), International Relations and Global Business, University of Southern California; Finance, The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexdengler)
- Alexander Dengler is listed as a host of The LA Grind: Curated Founder Dinner event. (https://luma.com/thelagrindfounderdinner1)
- Alex Dengler and Virginia Tirado both saw a need to support founders at different stages by providing tailored talent solutions to help them scale successfully. (https://humansoffuzia.com/interview/virginia-tirado-supporting-founders-to-build-scalable-teams-and-shape-the-future-of-business/)
- Alex Dengler is based in Los Angeles. (https://humansoffuzia.com/interview/virginia-tirado-supporting-founders-to-build-scalable-teams-and-shape-the-future-of-business/)
- Alexander Dengler invited people looking for an awesome 100% remote job to chat with him. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/alexdengler_illuvium-activity-6833683299802714113-VCbf)
- Previous roles include Talent at Cognition; Co-Founder at Reku; Owner at Matcha Mafia; VP of Talent at Casper; Recruiting Manager, EMEA at Uber; Head of Recruitment at Osborne & Partners; Sr. Recruiter, APAC at Google; Sr. Recruiter, Creative Lab and US Sales at Google. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexdengler)
- Education history includes Bachelor of Arts (BA), International Relations and Global Business, University of Southern California; Finance, The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexdengler)
- Matcha Mafia serves ceremonial-grade matcha, including for ice lattes. (https://www.sohohouse.com/house-notes/issue-006/travel/destination-europe-amsterdam-local-guide)
- Alexander Dengler is described as the man behind the operations of Matcha Mafia. (https://www.horecatrends.com/matcha-mafia-100-natural-matcha-lattes-drinken-in-amsterdamse-pijp/)
- Alexander Dengler saw a business model in bringing matcha to the Netherlands and decided to focus more on creative entrepreneurship after his careers at Uber and Google. (https://www.horecatrends.com/matcha-mafia-100-natural-matcha-lattes-drinken-in-amsterdamse-pijp/)
- Alexander Dengler is responsible for the brand design and interior of Matcha Mafia. (https://www.horecatrends.com/matcha-mafia-100-natural-matcha-lattes-drinken-in-amsterdamse-pijp/)
- Matcha Mafia lattes can be ordered via UberEats, Deliveroo and soon also via Thuisbezorgd.nl. (https://www.horecatrends.com/matcha-mafia-100-natural-matcha-lattes-drinken-in-amsterdamse-pijp/)
- Matcha Mafia is a matchabar located at Saenredamstraat 26, Amsterdam Zuid, De Pijp. (https://www.bysam.nl/matcha-mafia-matchabar-amsterdam-zuid/)
- Matcha Mafia sources its matcha directly from Uji, Japan, where it has the highest quality Ceremonial Grade Matcha. (https://www.bysam.nl/matcha-mafia-matchabar-amsterdam-zuid/)
- Matcha Mafia offers eight different kinds of lattes that can be served both warm and cold, depending on the season. (https://www.bysam.nl/matcha-mafia-matchabar-amsterdam-zuid/)
- Matcha Mafia's lattes contain no artificial colorings and are 100% pure nature. (https://www.bysam.nl/matcha-mafia-matchabar-amsterdam-zuid/)
- Matcha Mafia offers vegan latte options with oat milk, coconut milk, almond milk, or soy milk. (https://www.bysam.nl/matcha-mafia-matchabar-amsterdam-zuid/)
- Matcha Mafia serves power balls, vegan and gluten-free chia seed pudding jars, and snacks such as matcha banana cake and mochi. (https://www.bysam.nl/matcha-mafia-matchabar-amsterdam-zuid/)
- Matcha Mafia offers refreshing lemonades on hot summer days. (https://www.bysam.nl/matcha-mafia-matchabar-amsterdam-zuid/)
- At Matcha Mafia you can also buy matcha for home, and home delivery is available via Uber Eats and soon also Thuisbezorgd. (https://www.bysam.nl/matcha-mafia-matchabar-amsterdam-zuid/)
- Matcha Mafia's opening hours are Monday through Friday from 9:00 to 19:00 and Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 to 19:00. (https://www.bysam.nl/matcha-mafia-matchabar-amsterdam-zuid/)
- Location is United States. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexdengler)
- Location is United States. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexdengler)

## Experience
- Head of Research Operations at Cognition - San Francisco, CA (Oct 2026 - Present): frontier research lab, compute
- Talent at Cognition - San Francisco, CA (Apr 2026 - Oct 2026): building r&d
- Co-Founder at Reku - Los Angeles, CA (Jan 2025 - Apr 2026): founding eng teams & leadership
- Owner at Matcha Mafia - Amsterdam (Jan 2019 - Dec 2024): brand, cafes, ecomm, rtd energy drink
- VP of Talent at Casper - New York City Metropolitan Area (Feb 2017 - Apr 2018): global talent
- Recruiting Manager, EMEA at Uber - Amsterdam (Mar 2015 - Feb 2017): launched 42 countries
- Head of Recruitment at Osborne & Partners - London Area, United Kingdom (Sep 2013 - Mar 2015): exec & advisory
- Sr. Recruiter, APAC at Google - Singapore (Sep 2012 - Sep 2013): first int'l move
- Sr. Recruiter, Creative Lab and US Sales at Google - New York, NY (Oct 2010 - Sep 2012): did cool stuff

## Education
- University of Southern California - Bachelor of Arts (BA), International Relations and Global Business
- The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) - Finance

## Sources
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexdengler
- https://humansoffuzia.com/interview/virginia-tirado-supporting-founders-to-build-scalable-teams-and-shape-the-future-of-business/
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/alexdengler_illuvium-activity-6833683299802714113-VCbf
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/alexdengler_why-im-joining-cognition-activity-7510842791065919488--8fI
- https://www.bysam.nl/matcha-mafia-matchabar-amsterdam-zuid/
- https://www.sohohouse.com/house-notes/issue-006/travel/destination-europe-amsterdam-local-guide
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/activity-7442278728090632192-Luj6?utm_source=social_share_send&utm_medium=member_desktop_web&rcm=ACoAAHCgV2oBUT2t_6Av1PZ_PpbmuodKyEMgpLA
- https://startupintros.com/people/alexander-dengler
- https://www.horecatrends.com/matcha-mafia-100-natural-matcha-lattes-drinken-in-amsterdamse-pijp/
- https://luma.com/thelagrindfounderdinner1
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/monjin_little-life-update-after-almost-two-years-activity-7515790404454354944-3Pxf
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/virginiatirado_didyouknow-startups-recruiting-activity-7353393458662764547-pntR
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/activity-7465479706407219200-am26?utm_source=social_share_send&utm_medium=member_desktop_web&rcm=ACoAAHCgV2oBUT2t_6Av1PZ_PpbmuodKyEMgpLA
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/alexdengler_so-excited-and-thankful-to-be-working-with-activity-7317532873425645569-i_Vp
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/activity-7465441959491489792-8pnj?utm_source=social_share_send&utm_medium=member_desktop_web&rcm=ACoAAHCgV2oBUT2t_6Av1PZ_PpbmuodKyEMgpLA
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/alexdengler_what-a-great-event-good-vibes-and-conversation-activity-7341914878753857536-sWyg
- https://reku.co/


Researched with Autumn (https://www.autumn.ai) from public sources. Updated 2026-11-04. Profile: https://www.autumn.ai/resources/cognition/people/alexander-dengler · Everyone at Cognition: https://www.autumn.ai/resources/cognition/people