# Ouliana Trofimenko

![Ouliana Trofimenko](/resources/cognition/portraits/ouliana-trofimenko.webp)

Global VP, Talent Acquisition and Executive Search at Cognition; ex-Scale AI, Webflow, Mapbox, Quid  
Cognition  
San Francisco Bay Area

## At Cognition

- Role: Global Vice President, Talent Acquisition and Executive Search (Recruiting/People)
- Joined: Jul 2026
- How they joined: Directly
- Before Cognition: Global Vice President, Talent Acquisition and Executive Search , Scale AI
- Overlapped before Cognition with other Cognition people at: Scale AI (https://www.autumn.ai/resources/cognition/worked-together)

## Identity
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oulianat
- Domain: cognition.ai

## Investing
- Applied Compute · 2026-10

## Notes
- Her own words on joining, posted on LinkedIn: "Here we go! Excited to be a part of such an elite team at Cognition! I'm selectively adding key players to the talent team. If you're a recruiter or talent ops leader in SF/NYC/London who wants to build something rare, let's talk" -. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/oulianat_here-we-go-excited-to-be-a-part-of-such-activity-7493438384804110338-oznp)
- Joined Cognition (Devin, Windsurf) as Global Vice President, Talent Acquisition and Executive Search in July 2026; LinkedIn role text: "Leading global talent acquisition and executive search for Cognition, building the team behind Devin. Scaling the org to support the next phase of growth as we bring Devin to more people and places." (https://www.linkedin.com/in/oulianat)
- Cognition's official announcement (2026-09-16) framed her hire around team-building: "We frequently say 'it's fun being on the Avengers', but the Avengers are difficult to assemble. Ouliana is here to build the team that does." (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/cognition-ai-labs_ouliana-trofimenko-has-joined-cognition-as-activity-7505994429816754177-Q5rt)
- Before going full-time, she was an Independent Advisor at Hanabi Capital (from Sep 2025), "selectively advising portfolio companies - including Cursor, Simile, Applied Compute, and Cognition - on talent strategy and executive hiring"; Cognition was an advisory client before it became her employer. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/oulianat)
- At Scale AI (Sep 2021 - Oct 2025; Global VP from May 2022) she scaled headcount from 300 to 2,000+, built Talent Acquisition from the ground up to ~120 people worldwide, and formalized Scale's Executive Search function, "partnering directly with CEO Alexandr Wang on senior hires." (https://www.linkedin.com/in/oulianat)
- Listed as an Investor in Applied Compute (from Oct 2026) and congratulated the team publicly when it hit a $100M run-rate and raised, making her a recruiter-turned-angel in the AI ecosystem. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/oulianat)
- At Scale she expanded into Marketplace Growth, launching a Growth Recruiting function to scale the contributor base of generative AI experts, and led People, HR and Workplace teams through leadership transitions. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/oulianat)
- Advisor to Simile (from Oct 2025) on talent strategy and org design; she reposted Simile's Series B announcement (over $200M at a $2B post-money, co-led by Greenoaks and Index, with Hanabi Capital participating). (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/simile-ai-inc_today-were-announcing-similes-series-b-ugcPost-7488640185266741249-KdGf)
- At Webflow (Oct 2020 - Sep 2021), as Head of Global Talent Acquisition, she led 20+ across Technical Recruiting, Business Recruiting and Talent Operations and scaled headcount from 150 to 500, with formal headcount planning reported monthly to execs and Board. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/oulianat)
- At Mapbox (Oct 2017 - Oct 2020), as Senior Director Global Talent Acquisition, she grew headcount from 180 to 750+, ran a 30+ global talent team, and owned recruiting, talent ops, university recruiting, talent brand, analytics and DE&I. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/oulianat)
- At Quid (Jun 2014 - Oct 2017; VP Global Talent Acquisition from May 2015) she reported to the CTO as Director, built the engineering team "to 10x", and grew Quid from under 20 to 250+ employees; Quid was later acquired by NetBase (Jan 2020). (https://www.linkedin.com/in/oulianat)
- Public headline says "VP, Talent Acquisition @ Cognition, ex Scale AI". (https://www.linkedin.com/in/oulianat)
- Photographed by Bloomberg/Getty in 2018 as "head of technical recruiting at Mapbox Inc." for a story on demand for programmers hitting full boil in the U.S. job market. (https://www.gettyimages.com/editorial-images/news/event/mapbox-inc-headquarters-as-demand-for-programmers-hits-full-boil/775157365)

With deep experience leading transformative change in venture backed, scaling environments, I translate business objectives and goals into data-driven results. By attracting, hiring, developing, and enabling industry-leading talent teams, we accelerate business outcomes by architecting agile, inclusive, and scalable talent acquisition strategies that enable teams to succeed and comp; this comes from the profile summary and preserves the person's own positioning. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/oulianat)
- Panelist representing Scale (Head of Global Talent Acquisition) on a Gem webinar about capacity planning in an evolving talent market, alongside leaders from MasterClass and Gem. (https://lp.gem.com/tackling-capacity-planning-in-an-evolving-talent-market.html)
- Advisor to Greenhouse Software (2014-2016) and Straightaway (2020), recruiting-tech and startup advisory roles. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/oulianat)
- Lead Technical Recruiter at if(we) (Tagged), 2013-2014, brought in for hard-to-fill engineering roles open 90+ days. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/oulianat)
- Founding Member of Women 2.0 (Nov 2011 - Feb 2013), involved in its Founder Friday events for aspiring women founders. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/oulianat)
- Manager, Technical Recruiting at Jobspring Partners (Apr 2011 - Dec 2013), agency recruiting partnering with CTOs/VPEs; clients included Box, Cloudera and Hortonworks. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/oulianat)
- Previous roles include Global Vice President, Talent Acquisition and Executive Search  at Scale AI; Head of Global Talent Acquisition at Scale AI; Head of Global Talent Acquisition at Webflow; Senior Director, Global Talent Acquisition at Mapbox; Advisor at Straightaway; Vice President, Global Talent Acquisition at Quid; Director, Talent Acquisition  at Quid; Advisor at Greenhouse Software. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/oulianat)
- Education history includes BA, Business, California State University-Sacramento. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/oulianat)
- Reposted Cognition's SF HQ office tour video ("where we're doing it all with Devin. Even ordering our morning coffee."). (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/cognition-ai-labs_get-your-slippers-on-and-join-us-for-a-walk-ugcPost-7499135050505183232-8q-B)
- BA in Business, California State University-Sacramento, graduated with honors. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/oulianat)
- Location is San Francisco Bay Area. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/oulianat)
- Profile summary self-description: "Recovering workaholic. Avid world traveler"; motto "Always: How will it scale?" (https://www.linkedin.com/in/oulianat)

## Experience
- Global Vice President, Talent Acquisition and Executive Search at Cognition - San Francisco, CA (Jul 2026 - Present): Leading global talent acquisition and executive search for Cognition, building the team behind Devin. Scaling the org to support the next phase of growth as we bring Devin to more people and places.
- Investor at Applied Compute (Oct 2026 - Present)
- Advisor at Simile (Oct 2025 - Present): Advising Simile's leadership on talent strategy and org design as the company scales.
- Independent Advisor at Hanabi Capital (Sep 2025 - Present): Selectively advising portfolio companies — including Cursor, Simile, Applied Compute, and Cognition — on talent strategy and executive hiring.
- Global Vice President, Talent Acquisition and Executive Search at Scale AI - San Francisco Bay Area (May 2022 - Oct 2025): Led global talent acquisition strategy, scaling headcount from 300 to 2,000+ and revenue from $XXXM to $XB in ARR. Built the Talent Acquisition function from the ground up to ~120 people worldwide.
 
Expanded scope to Marketplace Growth, launching a Growth Recruiting function focused on scaling the contributor base of generative AI experts. Led People, HR, and Workplace teams through leadership transitions.
 
Formalized and scaled Scale's Executive Search function, partnering directly with CEO Alexandr Wang on senior hires.

Global footprint: San Francisco (HQ), New York, Washington DC, St. Louis, London, Doha
- Head of Global Talent Acquisition at Scale AI (Sep 2021 - May 2022)
- Head of Global Talent Acquisition at Webflow - San Francisco Bay Area (Oct 2020 - Sep 2021): Leading a team of 20+ across 3 talent sub functions (Technical Recruiting, Business Recruiting, and Talent Operations) managing a Director, Managers and Leads.

Led a team of 20+ across three talent sub-functions (Technical Recruiting, Business Recruiting, Talent Operations), managing a Director, Managers, and Leads.

Scaled Webflow's headcount from 150 to 500 during a year of hypergrowth, reaching 100% attainment against plan.

Rolled out formalized headcount planning with annual and quarterly targets, plus monthly reporting to the executive team and Board on attainment and forecasting.

Improved interview speed and quality by redesigning the interview structure, cutting time-to-hire across Engineering, Product, and Design from 99 days to 45 days.

Led a major talent brand overhaul, including a redesign and relaunch of the Careers Page — driving a 29% MoM increase in applications per job and a 25% increase in visitor-to-applicant conversion.
- Senior Director, Global Talent Acquisition at Mapbox - San Francisco Bay Area (Oct 2017 - Oct 2020): Grew global headcount from 180 to 750+, contributing to 550% revenue growth over three years. Scaled a global Talent team of 30+, managing multiple Managers — including regional Managers — and Leads.

Owned all global functions across Recruiting, Talent Operations, University Recruiting, Talent Brand & Partnerships, Talent Analytics, and DE&I.

Delivered 90–105% attainment on quarterly and annual hiring plans. Maintained a global offer acceptance rate above 75% while continuously improving hiring productivity and efficiency metrics.

Led bi-annual operational and headcount planning alongside key executives — CFO, COO, CTO, SVP Engineering, SVP Sales — tying headcount plans directly to business outcomes, including a 60% increase in ARR per headcount.

Built regionally centralized recruiting teams in EMEA (London, Minsk, Helsinki) and APAC (Tokyo, Shanghai) to support global expansion, driving measurable predictability and efficiency gains in hiring.

Led Talent and IP due diligence for two successful M&A transactions.

Launched a University Recruiting program hiring 30 interns and 20 new grads across Product and Engineering, achieving a 50/50 gender ratio and 30% URG representation in year one.

Participated in data room diligence for Series C and D fundraising, and delivered quarterly reporting to the Board of Directors.

Global footprint: San Francisco (HQ), Washington DC, Helsinki, Shanghai, Minsk, Tokyo
- Advisor at Straightaway - San Francisco Bay Area (Jan 2020 - Jan 2020)
- Vice President, Global Talent Acquisition at Quid (May 2015 - Oct 2017): Quid was acquired by NetBase in January 2020.
 
Grew Quid globally from under 20 to 250+ employees over three years, helping take the company from pre-revenue to $100M+ ARR and ultimately a successful exit. Scaled a global Talent team of 10+, managing Managers and Leads.
 
Owned all global functions across Recruiting, Talent Brand, Talent Operations, and University Programs.
 
Delivered 95–100% attainment on quarterly and annual hiring plans. Maintained a global offer acceptance rate above 85% while continuously improving hiring productivity and efficiency metrics.
 
Launched a University Recruiting program hiring 10 interns and 5 new grads across Product and Engineering, achieving a 50/50 gender ratio and 30% URG representation in year one.
 
Led executive recruiting in partnership with the CEO and Board, closing CFO, CTO, VP Engineering, VP Sales, and VP Product roles.
 
Participated in data room preparation for Series B and C funding rounds.
 
Delivered weekly talent metrics reporting to executive staff, and quarterly/EOY reporting to the Board.
 
Reported to the COO.
- Director, Talent Acquisition at Quid - San Francisco Bay Area (Jun 2014 - May 2015): Built Talent Acquisition functions and set up those functions for scale. I was interwoven into the DNA of Quid. Worked hand and hand with the CTO and built a world class Engineering Team to 10x.

Growth Focus: Javascript Engineers, Platform Engineers, DevOps Engineers, QA Engineers, Product Managers, UX Designers, Engineering Management. 
Reporting to: CTO
- Advisor at Greenhouse Software - San Francisco Bay Area (Jan 2014 - Jan 2016)
- Lead Technical Recruiter at if(we) - San Francisco Bay Area (Jan 2013 - Jan 2014): I was brought in to manage “hard to fill” engineering roles that were open 90+ days. Managed a sourcer and a coordinator. 

Anyone. Anywhere. Anytime. We are working toward a vision where anyone can use a device to instantly connect with interesting people anytime, anywhere. Meet a friend. Make a business contact. Play a game. Find a date. It’s not social networking – it’s social discovery.

Tagged is one of the largest global social networks in the Social Discovery category with 300M registered users and 15M MAU (60% US), with a fun, gritty, urban demographic that spends as much time on site, and as frequently, as Facebook. Tagged's product universe includes social networking, instant messaging, gaming, online dating, friend discovery, group forums, user-generated content, virtual currency, online security, micro-payments, and subscriptions.
- Manager, Technical Recruiting at Jobspring Partners - San Jose, CA (Apr 2011 - Dec 2013): *** preferred talent acquisition partner of Box, other clients included Cloudera, Horton Works, and Stealth Mode/Early Stage Startups in Silicon Valley

Lead a team of Recruiters that specialized in partnering with CTOs and VPEs to build out core engineering teams or teams going through hypergrowth. My approach is simple, but my network is vast and the talent that I represent is the most highest of caliber. I will leverage my relationships to most effectively fill your high level engineering roles and set your engineering teams up for scale. 

Jobspring Partners Silicon Valley is a start-up recruiting firm with a focus on engineering. We help companies with challenging technology needs locate the talented engineers they need to move their business forward. We emphasize and face-to-face interactions and take on a more human approach to finding talent.
- Founding Member at Women 2.0 - Silicon Valley (Nov 2011 - Feb 2013): Founder Friday is a Women 2.0 event to promote the creation of new networks among aspiring entrepreneurs, current entrepreneurs and investors in innovative cities globally. Both men and women are invited to attend Founder Friday.

Women 2.0 (www.women2.com) is a media company offering content, community and conferences for aspiring and current women innovators in technology. Our mission is to increase the number of female founders of technology startups with inspiration, information and education through our platform.

## Education
- California State University-Sacramento - BA, Business: Graduated with Honors in Business

## Sources
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/oulianat
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/cognition-ai-labs_ouliana-trofimenko-has-joined-cognition-as-activity-7505994429816754177-Q5rt
- https://www.tipranks.com/news/private-companies/cognition-strengthens-talent-strategy-with-new-global-vp-hire-amid-ongoing-recruitment
- https://www.gettyimages.com/editorial-images/news/event/mapbox-inc-headquarters-as-demand-for-programmers-hits-full-boil/775157365
- https://lp.gem.com/tackling-capacity-planning-in-an-evolving-talent-market.html
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/oulianat?miniProfileUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afsd_profile%3AACoAAAiQ6QIBdoUPN5Gh52_l7uHZbFg6ad_GrEQ
- https://www.linkedin.com/company/cognition-ai-labs/posts
- https://www.linkedin.com/company/simile-ai-inc/posts
- https://cognition.com/blog/windsurf
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/oulianat_here-we-go-excited-to-be-a-part-of-such-activity-7493438384804110338-oznp
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/simile-ai-inc_today-were-announcing-similes-series-b-ugcPost-7488640185266741249-KdGf
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/cognition-ai-labs_get-your-slippers-on-and-join-us-for-a-walk-ugcPost-7499135050505183232-8q-B


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