Role overview

We are seeking a Vice President of Product Design & UX Research to join our high-performing team on our transformational journey from the largest automotive shopping marketplace to an end-to-end transaction-enabled platform where consumers and dealers alike can buy and sell cars with the most selection, convenience, and trust. This inspirational leader will set the user experience vision and strategy for CarGurus and will be the driving force to develop a user-centered design approach that delivers an experience that delights customers and builds loyalty. Reporting to the Chief Product Officer, this seasoned, innovative, creative, strategist will lead our Product Design and UX Research teams and act as a trusted business partner to our engineering and product teams. Their decisive leadership will drive design priorities to solve our customers’ largest pain points while ensuring our marketplace platform is both aesthetically appealing and highly functional. This role is pivotal in maintaining our commitment to delivering a best-in-class user experience that drives user satisfaction, adoption and engagement.

What you’ll do

Leadership and Strategy:

• Be the driving force behind our Product Design and UX Research vision and be an active, decisive, strategic voice and advocate on the CarGurus Senior Management Team.
• Provide design and product thought leadership throughout our marketplace, portfolio of products and services and overall customer experience.
• Build alignment and drive focus to ensure the customer experience is at the forefront of our work and decision making.
• Drive user-centered design thinking throughout the organization and ensure alignment with business goals.
• Establish and maintain design guidelines, design systems, and best practices.

Team Leadership:

• Manage, mentor, and inspire a team of product designers, researchers, and other UX professionals.
• Foster a collaborative and innovative design culture within the organization.
• Provide coaching and support to help the team reach its full potential.

User Research and Insights:

• Champion user research and usability testing to gain deep insights into user needs and behavior.
• Utilize research findings to inform design decisions and product enhancements.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to drive data-driven design improvements.

Design and Prototyping:

• Oversee the creation of wireframes, mockups, and prototypes to visualize design concepts.
• Ensure designs are user-friendly, aesthetically pleasing, and responsive across multiple devices.
• Drive the design process from concept to final implementation, collaborating with developers and product managers.
• Thread our new brand identity throughout our products, developing a new and modern design system 

Continuous Improvement:

• Monitor user feedback and analytics to identify areas for improvement and act on them.
• Lead A/B testing and usability studies to optimize the user experience continually.
• Stay up-to-date with industry trends and emerging technologies to enhance the product’s user experience.

Stakeholder Collaboration:

• Collaborate closely with product management, engineering, marketing, and other departments to ensure seamless integration of design and user experience into the product development process.
• Represent the user’s perspective in cross-functional discussions and decision-making.

Budget and Resource Management:

• Develop and manage the budget, ensuring efficient use of resources.
• Make strategic decisions on tools, software, and staffing requirements.

Who you are

• Strategic leader with strong intellectual curiosity, operational proficiency, and a bias for action that has resulted in a history of inspiring high-performing teams and driving results.
• You’re a Catalyst for Impact with a strong performance orientation, demonstrating ownership for your work and a passion to achieve key outcomes, strong analytical and problem-solving skills, and an ability to roll up your sleeves and get stuff done.
• You’re a Coach who brings strong conscientious people management capability with success in building and leading high performing teams.
• You’re a strong Communicator, sharing our vision and bringing people along.
• You’re a Change Leader with a proven track record of applying fresh, creative ideas to long-standing complex challenges.
• You’re a Caring Collaborator, able to build relationships and influence business leaders at all levels including the executive team.
• You’re purpose and values driven, with a reputation for integrity, ownership, and inclusion.

What you’ll bring

• 15 years of experience overall with 10 years of proven experience as a Product Design leader, responsible for Design and UX Research teams and advocating for customer experience
• Strong portfolio showcasing a range of successful user-centered design projects, with ability to articulate their overall impact.
• Proficiency in design and prototyping tools (e.g., Sketch, Figma, Adobe Creative Suite).
• Strong understanding of usability principles, journey mapping techniques, information architecture, and interaction design.
• Experience working with agile development methodologies.
• Experience running and using research to support evidence-focused design decisions.
• Excellent leadership and team management skills with experience building and leading cross-functional, diverse and highly engaged teams.
• Ability to collaborate with engineering, marketing and other executive teams and leaders to ensure design implementations meet our CarGurus standards.
• Exceptional communication, storytelling, presentation, and interpersonal skills with proven ability to influence internal and external stakeholders.
• Results-driven and committed to delivering exceptional user experiences.