This month, we are excited to spotlight Serena Su, Technical Product Manager on Cognitiv’s Engineering team, who is about to celebrate her one-year anniversary with the company. Serena is known for her strong work ethic, thoughtful problem-solving, and genuine willingness to lend a hand—whether she’s collaborating across departments or helping a teammate troubleshoot a challenge. She thrives on connecting people and ideas, ensuring teams are aligned on the bigger picture while finding smart, efficient ways to move projects forward. 

Beyond her technical expertise, Serena brings the same energy to everything she does, whether she’s collaborating on a project at work, playing Ultimate Frisbee, or capturing moments behind her camera.

Read more about this month’s Brain Behind Our Brand.

• Pronouns: She/Her 
• Role: Technical Product Manager 
• Team: Engineering 
• How Long Have You Been at Cognitiv: Almost One Year 

Inside The Office

What do you love most about your role?

One of the unique things about my role is the opportunity for cross-team collaboration. I really enjoy interacting with different teams across the organization and learning about the challenges each one faces. It’s rewarding to help connect the dots so that everyone is aligned on the bigger picture. Ultimately, it feels great knowing that I’m helping make things easier and more efficient for others.

What’s one thing you think will change in adtech in the next five years?

I think we’ll continue to see the intersection between AI and creative development grow. With how much media people consume and how important personalization has become, AI will play an even bigger role in helping brands tailor ads more effectively to individual consumers.

What is a memorable moment when you felt like your work really made an impact at Cognitiv?

One of my first major projects at Cognitiv required close collaboration across multiple teams—finance, client success, and operations. It was a great experience to help bridge communication between these groups and engineering, making sure we were all aligned on requirements and implementation. Hearing feedback that my work made it easier for everyone to stay on the same page was incredibly rewarding.

What advice would you give to someone joining #TeamCognitiv?

Things move really fast here—both at Cognitiv and in adtech in general—so expect to learn a lot in a short period of time. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and reach out to people. Everyone is open, collaborative, and willing to help. And because everything moves quickly, you’ll be able to see the direct impact of your work almost immediately.

Outside The Office

Is there a quote or piece of advice that has stuck with you throughout your career?

Communication is everything. My fiancé works in healthcare, and he introduced me to a framework called SBAR—it stands for Situation, Background, Assessment, and Results. It’s used in hospitals to communicate clearly and effectively, but I’ve found it just as helpful in my own work. It helps me think through problems, organize my thoughts, and communicate in a structured way that keeps everyone on the same page.

If you were not in your current role, what would your dream job be?

I’ve always been drawn to both design and healthcare. In design, I love the idea of working in interiors or UX design—something that combines creativity and usability. In healthcare, I’ve always thought being a physical therapist would be really rewarding—helping people troubleshoot problems with their bodies so they can keep doing what they love.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

Lately, Ultimate Frisbee has been my main outlet outside of work. It’s a great way to stay active, relieve stress, and meet people from all kinds of backgrounds.

What’s a skill or hobby you’ve learned recently?

Recently, I’ve been trying to pick up my camera more and get back into photography. For a while, I relied mostly on my phone camera, but it’s been nice to take more intentional photos again. It’s become a really fulfilling creative outlet for me.

Rapid-Fire Questions

• Coffee or tea? Tea - jasmine green tea
• Morning person or night owl? Morning person
• Favorite vacation spot? Either somewhere in nature or Asia for the food
• Favorite book, movie, or TV show? Movie is “Crash” or “Joy La Club”

Team Shoutouts

“Serena leads some of Cognitiv’s most complex and cross-functional projects, bringing together engineering, science, operations, and customer success teams to deliver results that truly move the business forward. She exemplifies what it means to be an owner — deeply organized, proactive, and focused on outcomes. Serena is the kind of person every engineering leader hopes to have on their team and the kind of teammate everyone wants to work with.” —Stephen Curial, SVP, Engineering

“Serena's contributions in the past year to the engineering org have been substantial. Her collaborative approach to solving problems, a curiosity in understanding how Cognitiv's technical systems operate, and engaging personality have made Serena a critical member to the team and someone who continually makes us all better at what we do.” —Peyton Reaves, Director of Software Engineering

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