Manager, Data Science

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

The Manager, Data Science will lead an Inventory & Dealer Data Science team focused on developing, deploying, and optimizing machine learning models that power CarGurus’ products and business insights. Sitting within the broader Data Science organization, this team is responsible for modeling automotive marketplace dynamics and dealer behavior. The team owns Machine Learning solutions end-to-end across the ML lifecycle, from R&D to production. This leader is accountable for the team’s strategic direction and impactful delivery, while building a culture of innovation, technical excellence, and collaboration. The Manager partners with Product, Engineering, Analytics, and cross-functional stakeholders to ensure team efforts advance CarGurus’ goals in intelligence-powered products.

What you'll do

• Oversee the development, training, and evaluation of machine learning models covering Inventory and Dealer intelligence. Leverage modeling techniques including recommendations, demand forecasting, churn risk prediction, and valuation algorithms.

• Facilitate experimentation, A/B testing, and measurement of production models, ensuring robust evaluation of business impact

• Build and develop a high-performing team - providing regular coaching, feedback, and performance assessments; ensure equitable access to growth opportunities.

• Drive innovation, continuous improvement, and adoption of best-in-class ML and AI practices. Champion best practices across the organization.

• Participate in roadmap planning, aligning the team’s work with broader business priorities and long-term strategy. Flag resource constraints and escalate tradeoff decisions when needed.

• Act as a visible, accessible leader - communicating objectives, updates, risks, and wins to all stakeholders.

• Partner with peers in the Machine Learning Platform, Product and Data teams, and other stakeholders to facilitate effective cross-team working relationships and represent data science in cross-functional forums.

What you'll bring

• 5+ years of experience in a data science or machine learning engineering role

• 2+ years of people leadership experience

• Deep expertise in machine learning models and their application to classification, regression, ranking, and recommendation problems. Familiarity with standard evaluation metrics and statistical best practices.

• Experience deploying and owning models in production and a working understanding of MLOps practices.

• Strong working knowledge of Python development best practices and the Python ML ecosystem (e.g., scikit-learn, PyTorch, XGBoost, numpy, pandas).

• Experience with cloud platforms, particularly AWS, including deploying, monitoring, and troubleshooting ML models.

• Effective communication and facilitation abilities with both technical and non-technical stakeholders (including data scientists, product management, senior leadership, and engineers).

• Experience contributing to the technical direction for a team and a strategic mindset for prioritizing projects and aligning them with business goals.

• Knowledge of standard software development methodologies and a history of driving continuous improvement.

• Experience in a collaborative, cross-functional environment, with the ability to build effective working relationships and foster an inclusive team culture.

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
$185,000—$231,000 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