This month’s Brains Behind Our Brand is Dave Anderson, Senior Software Engineer on our Real Time Systems team. Dave began his software engineering career at Cognitiv and, over nearly four and a half years, has grown into the go-to person for areas like identity and attribution. Get to know him below.

• Pronouns: He/Him
• Role: Senior Software Engineer
• Team: Real Time Systems
• How long you’ve been at Cognitiv: Almost 4.5 years

Inside The Office

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What's the part of your job you love most (that might surprise people)?

What I love most is the opportunity to dive deep into your work. Cognitiv is small enough that if you want to own something, you can. I started my software engineering career here, and over the years I've become the go-to person for several areas such as identity and attribution. That feeling of seeing something working and thinking, "Hey, I did that!" is what makes the work so rewarding.

What's one innovation in adtech that excites you, and why?

I'm definitely excited about AI-powered contextual targeting. LLMs and vision models can now understand what's happening on a page or in a video, not just match keywords. That means advertisers can reach the right audience without relying on personal data, which is a big deal as identity gets harder.

What's one thing you think will change in adtech in the next 5 years?

Between browser restrictions, new privacy regulations, and walled gardens, I think identity, and how it connects to attribution, is going to fundamentally change. Deterministic matches are going to get harder, so we'll have to rely much more on probabilistic signals to prove our ads are actually driving conversions.

What advice would you give someone joining #TeamCognitiv?

Talk to everyone and ask as many questions as you can. Be a sponge. There's so much nuance in the adtech industry, and it can be daunting at first, but I've found that people here are always down for a whiteboarding session. Things move fast around here, so don't be afraid to ask questions and get after it.

Outside The Office

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What's one unusual thing about you that might surprise coworkers?

Both my fiancée and my brothers think it's unusual that despite having "long luscious hair," I do next to nothing to maintain it. I use $2 shampoo and don't even own a hairbrush.

If you could have any superpower for a day, what would it be?

Probably the ability to sense the winning Powerball numbers.

What hobby or skill would you love to pick up if time weren't an issue?

Not a new hobby, but I've been in several bands in my life, and if I had more time, I would get back into writing music and playing shows around Seattle.

What's a favorite memory that always makes you smile?

Proposing to my now fiancée, Brandie, on Orcas Island last month. I created a fake New York Times crossword puzzle that had a hidden proposal embedded in it. She thought it was just a regular old newspaper page, and I'll never forget the look of surprise on her face!

Rapid-Fire Fun

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• Sweet or savory? Savory
• Early bird or night owl? Early bird
• Favorite childhood TV show or movie? Avatar the Last Airbender
• Last song you listened to? Do It Again - Steely Dan
• Beach, mountains, or city for a vacation? City!

‍Team Shoutouts

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“Dave is one of the hardest workers at Cognitiv and a walking encyclopedia of our systems, including plenty that have nothing to do with his own team. He’s never too busy to drop what he’s doing and help me untangle a tricky technical problem, and he can switch effortlessly from cracking jokes to locking in when it counts. I’m lucky to call him a teammate, and even luckier to call him a close friend.” — Mahir Bathija, Software Engineer

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