Senior UX Designer, Design System

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 looking for a Senior User Experience Designer to lead the evolution of our design system to enable faster, more consistent product development across all products and platforms. Ultimately, you will empower our designers and engineers with a high-leverage single source of truth that multiplies output and streamlines the entire development lifecycle. You are the keeper of shared standards - the person who makes it easier for every designer and engineer to ship better work.
What you'll do

• Define, maintain, and evolve components, patterns, and interaction standards that serve the full product surface.
• Partner closely with Engineering on system implementation, architecture decisions, and handoff processes.
• Proactively identify gaps by monitoring how the system is used across products, and close those gaps before they become workarounds.
• Reduce redundant design and development work by standardizing the most common solutions.
• Support design and engineering teams in adopting the system effectively, through documentation, reviews, and direct collaboration.
• Govern the contribution process: how changes get proposed, reviewed, and approved.
• Maintain a healthy system backlog and triage incoming requests with clear prioritization.

What you'll bring

• 7+ years of experience in UX/product design, with at least 4 years focused on design systems
• Proven expertise working with Figma variables and component architecture, including how they map to coded token structures.
• Working knowledge of front-end fundamentals (HTML, CSS)
• Experience dealing with accessibility standards (WCAG 2.1 AA) and how they inform component design and documentation.
• Strong systems thinking; you naturally see patterns, spot inconsistencies, and design for reuse.
• Demonstrated experience building and scaling a design system, ideally at a product company with multiple teams.
• Ability to balance consistency with flexibility; you know when to standardize and when to leave room for product judgment.
• Comfort working closely with Engineering, including familiarity with how design tokens, component libraries, and handoff tooling work in practice.
• AI-first mindset by proactively integrating LLMs and automation into the design system workflow to reduce manual friction, while maintaining a critical eye for quality and system integrity
• Clear communicator and cross-team influencer - you can get alignment from designers, engineers, and PMs without authority.
• Detail-oriented and reliable; teams depend on the system being accurate and well-documented.
• Comfortable in a governance role: setting standards, running reviews, and saying no when the system integrity is at stake.

Nice to haves

• Hands-on experience with design token pipelines and tooling (e.g., Style Dictionary, Theo, or equivalent).
• Certification in IAAP/WAAS is a distinct advantage.
• Experience with component library tooling, including writing or reviewing component documentation at the code layer.
• Familiarity with version control (Git) and how design system changes move through a development workflow.

The displayed range represents the expected annual base salary / On-Target Earnings (OTE) for this position. On-Target Earnings (OTE) is inclusive of base salary and on-target commission earnings, which applies exclusively to sales roles.
Individual pay within this range is determined by work location and other factors such as job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.
This annual base salary forms part of a comprehensive Total Rewards Package. In addition to benefits, this role may qualify for discretionary bonuses/incentives and Restricted Stock Units (RSUs).
Position Pay Range
$135,000 - $169,000 USD
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