---
title: 'Senior User Researcher at Fonoa'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-user-researcher-fonoa-london-47y4pyecpxxn'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-07'
---

# Senior User Researcher at Fonoa

- **Company:** Fonoa
- **Location:** London, United Kingdom
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** hybrid
- **Posted:** 2026-07-22
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-07
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/fonoa/9600b76f-b1e2-420f-9af8-d70a02087c16

## Job description

At Fonoa, we are transforming how digital-first companies stay tax compliant. We provide simple and modular API solutions that easily integrate into any existing workflow. Through our technology-first approach, we reduce manual processes, increase compliance and reduce the cost of operations when transacting and scaling internationally.

We are solving one of the largest yet unsolved problems in global e-commerce. Our tax automation software enables companies such as Uber, Zoom & Booking.com http://Booking.com to expand their international offerings more quickly and remain tax-compliant.

## The Role

We're looking for our first Senior User Researcher to build the research function at Fonoa from the ground up. You'll establish the connection between our customers and our teams, helping product and business make better decisions with confidence.

You'll own the entire research practice, from building a scalable customer research program to uncovering the insights that shape our AI-native Tax Operating System. You'll turn research into compelling stories that influence strategy, validate product direction, and demonstrate measurable impact on customer experience and business outcomes.

This is a hands-on Senior IC role reporting to the Head of Design. You'll work alongside a high-caliber team of designers, product managers, engineers, and tax managers, with the opportunity to build a lasting research culture and define how customer insights shape everything we build.

## What you'll do

- Build Fonoa's research function. Establish the processes, tools, and culture that make customer research a trusted part of how we build products.
- Become the voice of the customer. Build and maintain a scalable customer research panel that enables fast, continuous access to customer insights.
- Guide product direction. Partner with Product, Design, Engineering, and business teams to validate opportunities, reduce uncertainty, and increase confidence in product decisions.
- Run research end to end. Plan and conduct qualitative and quantitative research across the product lifecycle, from early discovery to post-launch validation.
- Turn insights into action. Translate research into clear recommendations that shape product strategy, customer experience, and business priorities.
- Tell compelling stories. Communicate not only what you learned, but why the research happened, what decisions it influenced, and the measurable impact it created.

## What we're looking for

- Strategic product researcher. You know how to influence product strategy, not just answer research questions.
- Research operations experience. You've built or significantly improved participant recruitment, research repositories, and repeatable research practices.
- Excellent storyteller. You connect research to decisions, customer outcomes, and business impact through clear, compelling narratives.
- Strong product intuition. You understand how products are built and know which questions matter most at each stage of the product lifecycle.
- Evidence-driven mindset. You're comfortable helping teams make decisions with imperfect information and understand that research is about reducing uncertainty, not eliminating it.
- Collaborative partner. You build trusted relationships across Product, Design, Engineering, Sales, and Customer Success to ensure customer insights reach the right people.
- Impact-oriented portfolio. Your work demonstrates how research influenced product direction, improved customer experience, or delivered measurable business results.

As part of the recruitment process at Fonoa, we process your personal data in accordance with our Privacy Notice for Job Applicants https://www.fonoa.com/legal/privacy-notice-job-applicants. This notice explains how and why your data is collected and used, and how you can contact us if you have any concerns.

## About Fonoa

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Fonoa provides an AI-driven global tax automation platform that handles determination, e-invoicing, return filing, and tax ID validation for digital businesses.
- **Entity Type**: Private (most recent funding round: $110M in May 2026, total funding $195M)
- **Headquarters**: Dublin, Ireland
- **Founded**: 2019
- **Founders**: Filip Sturman (Co-founder & COO) and other co-founders formerly at Uber (names not publicly disclosed)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry/industries**: Tax compliance automation, financial technology (FinTech)
- **Target customers**: B2B – multinational digital platforms, marketplaces, SaaS businesses, and enterprises. Examples include Uber, Zoom, Booking, and Remote.com.
- **Mission or purpose statement**: “Real-time tax compliance for innovators” – to remove tax complexity so businesses can scale globally.

## Products & Services
- **Tax Engine (API)**: Deterministic tax calculation (VAT, GST, Sales Tax) across 190+ jurisdictions with sub-200ms response time. ([fonoa.com](https://www.fonoa.com/))
- **E-Invoicing**: Compliant e-invoicing with accredited government connections, ultra-low rejection rates. Powers invoicing for 1M+ sellers on leading marketplaces. ([fonoa.com](https://www.fonoa.com/))
- **Tax Return Filing**: Automated multi-country return filing with full lineage from return box to source transaction. ([fonoa.com](https://www.fonoa.com/))
- **Tax ID Validation**: Real-time validation of tax IDs in 120+ countries, with fuzzy name matching. ([fonoa.com](https://www.fonoa.com/))
- **Tax Knowledge AI**: A living global tax intelligence layer that answers complex questions with cited sources. ([fonoa.com](https://www.fonoa.com/))
- **Audit Readiness Tool**: Compresses audit readiness from weeks to minutes by providing instant access to all tax data. ([fonoa.com](https://www.fonoa.com/))

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total Funding – $195M (including $110M raised May 2026, which also funded the acquisition of PwC’s Global Indirect Tax Compliance platform) ([cbinsights.com](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/fonoa))
- **Notable Investors**: Index Ventures (Seed), OMERS Ventures (Series A), Coatue (Series B). Lead investor in May 2026 round not specified in search results. ([linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/fonoa))
- **Growth Signals**:
  - 500M+ transactions processed annually.
  - Customer retention rate 97% (100% of customers who started 2025 renewed).
  - Headcount growth of +51.3% YoY (184 employees, up 79 in the last year).
  - Named to Sifted’s B2B SaaS Rising 100 for four consecutive years (2023–2026). ([fonoa.com](https://www.fonoa.com/company/about))

## Competitive Advantages
- **Single platform for the entire indirect tax lifecycle** – reduces integration complexity vs. stitching together multiple point solutions.
- **AI agents automate compliance workflows** while humans supervise, enabling audit readiness in minutes.
- **Deep government connections** for e-invoicing with near-zero rejection rates.
- **Uber pedigree** – founders built the platform based on firsthand experience scaling a global digital business.
- **Fast integration** – typical go-live in weeks or days, not months.

## Strategic Focus
- **AI-first tax platform**: Launched AI agents to autonomously execute compliance workflows, with human oversight. ([fonoa.com](https://www.fonoa.com/))
- **Post-acquisition integration**: Absorbing PwC’s global indirect tax compliance platform to expand reach and capabilities. ([fonoa.com](https://www.fonoa.com/company/about))
- **Global expansion**: Covers 190+ jurisdictions and continues to add new country support.
- **Product-led growth**: Prioritizing developer experience and API-first design to embed tax intelligence into customer products.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture & Mission**: Described as “the fastest-growing tech company in our space”; teams are encouraged to tackle complex global tax challenges with autonomy and collaboration. ([fonoa.com/company/careers](https://www.fonoa.com/company/careers))
- **Work Model**: Hybrid and remote opportunities available (depending on role); regular office meetups and team offsites. ([fonoa.com/company/careers](https://www.fonoa.com/company/careers))
- **Perks & Benefits**:
  - Competitive salary and equity stake.
  - 25 days paid time off (PTO).
  - Home office allowance for remote setup.
  - Bi-weekly team lunches.
  - Annual all-company trip (“FUNoa”) for learning and bonding.
- **Engineering & Growth**: Strong focus on engineering quality (Senior/Staff roles open in AI, frontend, data). 24% of employees are in technical departments. ([linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/fonoa))
- **Diversity**: Operates across 18 countries with distributed teams, offering international exposure.

## Sources
1. [fonoa.com](https://www.fonoa.com/) – Product descriptions, mission, customer logos, company numbers.
2. [fonoa.com/company/about](https://www.fonoa.com/company/about) – Founding story, funding news ($110M raise + PwC acquisition), Sifted recognition.
3. [fonoa.com/company/careers](https://www.fonoa.com/company/careers) – Benefits, culture, hiring process, hybrid/remote policy.
4. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/fonoa) – Employee count, revenue, funding, headcount growth, founders, exec team.
5. [cbinsights.com](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/fonoa) – Total funding amount ($195M), latest round details.

## Other roles at Fonoa

- [Junior Tax Content Analyst](https://feeny.ai/job/junior-tax-content-analyst-fonoa-zagreb-7rtfetjsncqm) — Zagreb, Croatia
- [Solutions Architect- Indirect Tax](https://feeny.ai/job/solutions-architect-indirect-tax-fonoa-new-york-s548kp6hhz9y) — New York, NY
- [Solutions Consultant, (Indirect Tax)](https://feeny.ai/job/solutions-consultant-indirect-tax-fonoa-new-york-dzfngb7jwbvj) — New York, NY
- [Senior Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-fonoa-zagreb-56ca7b0s69m5) — Zagreb, Croatia
- [Procurement Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/procurement-manager-fonoa-zagreb-npyjcksx0b9x) — Zagreb, Croatia
- [Regional Sales Director](https://feeny.ai/job/regional-sales-director-fonoa-london-g7169nv4bdqy) — London, United Kingdom
- [Sales Development Representative](https://feeny.ai/job/sales-development-representative-fonoa-new-york-aqtp3rtpvznh) — New York, NY
- [Sales Development Representative](https://feeny.ai/job/sales-development-representative-fonoa-london-0a25z0w2q70j) — London, United Kingdom
- [Staff Product Designer](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-product-designer-fonoa-london-v7skvrgp6vk4) — London, United Kingdom
- [Director, Sales Enablement](https://feeny.ai/job/director-sales-enablement-fonoa-new-york-6s4m9vvjgpwq) — New York, NY