Lead UX Designer

Who we are
At CarGurus (NASDAQ: CARG), our mission is to give people the power to reach their destination. We started as a small team of developers determined to bring trust and transparency to car shopping. Since then, our history of innovation and go-to-market acceleration has driven industry-leading growth. In fact, we're the largest and fastest-growing automotive marketplace, and we've been profitable for over 15 years.
What we do
The market is evolving, and we are too, moving the entire automotive journey online and guiding our customers through every step. That includes everything from the sale of an old car to the financing, purchase, and delivery of a new one. Today, tens of millions of consumers visit CarGurus.com each month, and ~30,000 dealerships use our products. But they're not the only ones who love CarGurus-our employees do, too. We have a people-first culture that fosters kindness, collaboration, and innovation, and empowers our Gurus with tools to fuel their career growth. Disrupting a trillion-dollar industry requires fresh and diverse perspectives. Come join us for the ride!
Role overview
CarGurus is seeking a Lead User Experience Designer to drive the quality, innovation, and consistency of user experiences across our consumer marketplace website, mobile apps, and dealer tools. This high-level individual contributor role blends strategic leadership with hands-on design execution, ensuring best-in-class UX for multiple product areas. As a Lead, you will own the design vision for your pod, mentor fellow designers, push the boundaries of experimentation, and champion the integration of AI tools and rapid iteration within the team.
The ideal candidate is highly entrepreneurial, thrives on quick concepting and fast iteration, and is already exploring and leveraging AI-driven design tools. You are passionate about emerging technologies, prototyping, and rethinking traditional UX paradigms to elevate our products. You also have a strong grasp of data and analytics, knowing how to use insights to inform design decisions. Collaboration with research teams is essential, and you'll work closely with UX researchers to integrate qualitative and quantitative findings into your design work. Additionally, you'll empower your team to conduct their own research, ensuring thoughtful, user-centered solutions.
What you'll do
Design Leadership & Execution

• Serve as the primary design authority for your product area, ensuring alignment across multiple designers' work.
• Experiment relentlessly with AI and cutting-edge design tools to rapidly iterate and explore new UX possibilities.
• Develop early-stage concepts for new features and products, using rapid prototyping to test and validate ideas quickly.
• Own high-impact design decisions, ensuring seamless and consistent UX across web and mobile platforms.
• Balance technical constraints, business objectives, and user needs to drive impactful, user-centered design solutions.
• Drive innovation in UX/UI design, keeping the team informed on industry trends and emerging technologies, particularly in the realm of AI and automation.
• Work closely with UX researchers to ensure that design decisions are informed by data, insights, and user testing.
• Guide designers in the effective use of the design system, advocating for best practices and consistency.

Team Mentorship & Collaboration

• Host weekly design reviews within your pod to provide feedback, mentorship, and strategic guidance.
• Champion a culture of constructive critique and a high design standard across the team.
• Oversee the work of junior designers, ensuring their growth while maintaining project quality.
• Ensure designers are engaging with research, usability testing, and analytics to validate their work and refine their designs.
• Collaborate with product managers, engineers, and researchers to define and prioritize initiatives that drive business value.

Communication & Influence

• Confidently present design concepts, research findings, and design strategy to stakeholders at all levels.
• Act as a bridge between UX, Product, and Engineering teams, ensuring user needs remain at the center of development.
• Advocate for user research and data-informed design decisions, demonstrating how insights translate into better experiences.

What you'll bring

• 8+ years of UX design experience with a proven track record of experimental, AI-driven, and highly iterative design approaches.
• Deep expertise in design systems, from creation to implementation at scale.
• Mastery of AI-enhanced design tools, rapid prototyping, and experimental design approaches.
• Strong conceptual thinking and problem-solving-able to generate innovative solutions and execute at a high level.
• Visual design expertise, with a strong command of typography, layout, and design aesthetics.
• Exceptional storytelling and communication skills, capable of articulating design decisions to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience with A/B testing, data-driven UX decisions, and experimentation frameworks.
• Knowledge of accessibility best practices and commitment to inclusive design.
• Experience in Agile/Scrum environments, collaborating closely with product and engineering teams.
• Familiarity with front-end technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) and their impact on design implementation.

Preferred Qualifications

• Entrepreneurial mindset, comfortable navigating ambiguity and driving new initiatives forward.
• Deep AI/ML knowledge applied to UX workflows and automation.
• Experience with service design, customer journey mapping, and complex ecosystems.
• Previous experience in automotive, e-commerce, or marketplace platforms.
• Familiarity with data visualization and analytics tools.
• Experience presenting at design conferences or publishing thought leadership on AI-driven UX.

Working at CarGurus
We reward our Gurus' curiosity and passion with best-in-class benefits and compensation, including equity for all employees, both when they start and as they continue to grow with us. Our career development and corporate giving programs, as well as our employee resource groups (ERGs) and communities, help people build connections while making an impact in personally meaningful ways. A flexible hybrid model and robust time off policies encourage work-life balance and individual well-being. Thoughtful perks like daily free lunch, a new car discount, meditation and fitness apps, commuting cost coverage, and more help our people create space for what matters most in their personal and professional lives.
We welcome all
CarGurus strives to be a place to which people can bring the ultimate expression of themselves and their potential-starting with our hiring process. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identity, or sexual orientation. We foster an inclusive environment that values people for their skills, experiences, and unique perspectives. That's why we hope you'll apply even if you don't check every box listed in the job description. We also encourage you to tell your recruiter if you require accommodations to participate in our hiring process due to a disability so we can provide the appropriate support. We want to know what only you can bring to CarGurus. #LI-Hybrid