Job Description
Be an Early Applicant
Boston MA USA
Hybrid
186K-233K Annually
Senior level
Consumer Web • eCommerce • Software
We're re-engineering car shopping. Join us for the ride.
The Role
Lead the Purchase team mentor engineers drive AI-native practices manage product development and define consumer-facing AI solutions for CarGurus.
Summary Generated by Built In
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 ~30000 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 hiring an Engineering Manager to lead the Purchase team within our Consumer Engineering department. The Purchase team owns the consumer journey from the moment a shopper decides on a car to the moment the deal is done. That means delivering an experience that meets consumers where they are-whether they want agents to handle the heavy lifting on their behalf or prefer to be guided through each step of financing trade-in and deal configuration themselves.
This is a pivotal leadership role at an exciting moment: we are actively transitioning our engineering practices toward AI-native and fully agentic development and this manager will be a key driver of that transformation. You'll lead a team of talented engineers shape the technical vision for one of our most strategically important product areas and champion AI-forward ways of working-from integrating AI coding assistants into daily workflows to architecting intelligent consumer-facing experiences. If you're energized by the intersection of modern AI development and high-impact consumer products this is the role for you.
What you'll do
What you'll bring
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
$186000 - $233000 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
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 ~30000 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 hiring an Engineering Manager to lead the Purchase team within our Consumer Engineering department. The Purchase team owns the consumer journey from the moment a shopper decides on a car to the moment the deal is done. That means delivering an experience that meets consumers where they are-whether they want agents to handle the heavy lifting on their behalf or prefer to be guided through each step of financing trade-in and deal configuration themselves.
This is a pivotal leadership role at an exciting moment: we are actively transitioning our engineering practices toward AI-native and fully agentic development and this manager will be a key driver of that transformation. You'll lead a team of talented engineers shape the technical vision for one of our most strategically important product areas and champion AI-forward ways of working-from integrating AI coding assistants into daily workflows to architecting intelligent consumer-facing experiences. If you're energized by the intersection of modern AI development and high-impact consumer products this is the role for you.
What you'll do
- Lead mentor and grow a team of engineers supporting their technical development and career growth while fostering a collaborative high-performance team culture
- Partner closely with Product UX and Analytics to drive the Purchase roadmap from concept through technical design implementation testing and measurement; actively contribute to roadmap prioritization by proposing technical investments and providing well-reasoned estimates
- Champion AI-forward engineering practices across the team-actively promoting the use of AI coding assistants agentic workflows and AI-driven tooling as core parts of the development process
- Lead the team's transition to fully agentic programming paradigms setting expectations removing blockers and modeling the mindset shift required
- Define and drive delivery of consumer-facing AI experiences collaborating with product and design to bring intelligent personalized features to millions of car shoppers
- Manage project scope estimation and prioritization; decompose complex initiatives into small self-contained units of work and drive their incremental delivery with a bias toward shipping and learning quickly
- Collaborate effectively across team boundaries-working with consumer dealer and platform engineering teams to align on dependencies define integration requirements and ensure the Purchase platform evolves reliably alongside the broader CarGurus ecosystem
- Roll up your sleeves and pitch in wherever you'll have the greatest impact-whether that's diving into a technical design session helping scope an A/B test unblocking a critical dependency or jumping into any other area where your involvement moves the team forward
- Advocate for engineering excellence-code quality observability system reliability and continuous improvement in process and tooling
- Have fun!
What you'll bring
- 7+ years of relevant engineering experience with 3+ years in an engineering management or technical lead role
- Solid backend engineering foundation-comfortable engaging deeply in architectural discussions system design and technical trade-offs particularly in Java/Spring environments distributed systems and data layer design
- Genuine enthusiasm for AI and agentic development: you believe AI coding tools and multi-agent workflows are the future of software engineering and you lead by example in adopting them-set a vision for AI-native development practices and guide engineers through the cultural and technical shift
- Experience delivering consumer-facing AI features or products; experience with conversational or agentic AI experiences is a strong plus
- Customer and product-focused mindset with a bias toward data-driven decisions and a track record of shipping high-quality user-centric features at scale
- Strong project management skills and experience with Agile methodologies; able to drive clarity and incremental progress in fast-moving ambiguous environments
- Demonstrated ability to mentor engineers and help them grow technically and professionally
- Strong communicator and collaborator who builds trust across engineering product and design
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science Computer Engineering or equivalent practical experience
- Curious empathetic and plays well with others-with a commitment to continuous learning and expanding your capabilities
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
$186000 - $233000 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
Skills Required
- 7+ years of relevant engineering experience
- 3+ years in an engineering management or technical lead role
- Strong backend engineering foundation in Java/Spring
- Experience delivering consumer-facing AI features
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or equivalent
CarGurus Compensation & Benefits Highlights
- Leave & Time Off Breadth—Flexible hybrid schedules pair with unlimited personal/sick time defined vacation periodic recharge days and a paid sabbatical program. Together these provide multiple pathways for rest and extended time away.
- Parental & Family Support—Family-forming and caregiving resources include Carrot Fertility Care.com backup care adoption/foster support and substantial paid parental leave with gradual return options. These offerings address a wide range of family needs across life stages.
- Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits—Health and wellness resources span an EAP Headspace fitness/wellness programming gym reimbursements and commuter and daily lunch perks. Office amenities and ERGs further support day-to-day wellbeing and inclusion.
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The Company
HQ: Boston MA
1200 Employees
Year Founded: 2006
What We Do
Headquartered in Boston Massachusetts CarGurus is the #1 visited digital auto platform in the U.S. for shopping buying and selling new and used vehicles and an award-winning place to work. We give drivers and dealers the confidence to buy or sell cars exactly how they want: online in-person or a combination of both. Our culture fosters kindness collaboration and innovation while empowering Gurus with opportunities and resources to fuel their career growth. We aim to give all people—consumers dealers and our employees—the power to reach their destination.
Why Work With Us
Being a top destination for buying and selling vehicles requires collaboration innovation and fresh perspective. So we empower our Gurus with opportunities and support that help them confidently contribute and continuously grow as their authentic selves. Amazing benefits and perks and development programs underscore our commitment to our people.
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CarGurus Offices
Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
Our hybrid working model emphasizes flexibility and open communication. Employees are expected to work with their managers to align on the rhythm that works best for their specific role and teams.
Typical time on-site: Flexible
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Date Posted
06/02/2026
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