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.<