Commenda
Head of VAT & GST Content

San Francisco, CA, USA
We’re not hiring a manager. We’re hiring a builder.
In 1914 Ernest Shackleton posted an ad:
“Men wanted for hazardous journey. Low wages, bitter cold, long hours of complete darkness. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in event of success.”
Commenda lives by the same spirit—minus the bitter cold and low wages. Backed by leading VCs including 1517 Fund, Pelion Venture Partners, Boost, Urban Innovation Fund, and more, we’re racing to build the world’s best transaction tax engine. If you’re looking for a 9-to-5, close this tab. If you’re ready to work harder than you ever have—and love it—read on.
The mandate
Own every rate, rule, threshold, and filing requirement for VAT and GST worldwide—starting with the EU, UK, India, UAE, Canada, and Brazil. Ship country coverage fast. Your north-star metric is simple: how many countries we launch, and how quickly.
What you’ll do
Research, verify, and maintain VAT/GST rates, boundaries, place-of-supply logic, product taxability, and return schemas
Structure that content in clear, well-documented spreadsheets our engineers can ingest directly
Track legislative changes in real time and push accurate updates into production inside 48 hours
Model complex scenarios (OSS/IOSS, reverse charge, marketplace rules, imports/exports) so our API returns the right calculations every time
Create rollout playbooks and, over time, hire and mentor regional specialists—while staying hands-on yourself
Use AI and other automation tools to multiply your output
Requirements
What you’ll bring
Five to ten years of deep VAT/GST expertise across multiple regions
Strong preference for candidates with experience at tax technology companies such as Avalara, Sovos, and Vertex, or those who have led tax engine integrations and automations with ERP software like SAP and NetSuite.
A proven record of turning raw legislation into clean, structured data or guidance that others implement
Familiarity with tax engines (Vertex, Avalara, Stripe Tax, etc.) and how their content pipelines work
Comfort collaborating with engineers and product teams—even if you don’t write code yourself
A relentless bias for action, an ownership mentality, and the stamina for startup pace (“Nobody ever changed the world on 40 hours a week”)
Crisp written and spoken English; additional languages are a plus
Degrees are optional. Results aren’t.
Benefits
Why Commenda
Competitive salary plus meaningful equity
Work side by side with founders and engineers in San Francisco, Bangalore, or London.
The chance to build the global VAT/GST platform you’ve always wished existed and watch it go live in weeks, not years
Negotiable Salary