Director of AI-Driven Organic Growth

Cars.com LLC; United States; Remote; USD 154,000 - 193,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental & vision

401(k) match

Stock Purchase Plan

Flexible time off

Paid parental and caregiver leave

Home office stipend

Tuition reimbursement

Job summary

Cars.com LLC is seeking a strategic Director of Organic Acquisition to lead SEO growth across Cars.com and related sites. You will guide technical, content, and AI-driven initiatives, partner with Product, Engineering and Editorial, and build a high-performing team to drive traffic, leads, and brand health.

The role emphasizes innovation in AI-enabled search, strong measurement of rankings, and collaboration with Paid Media for full-funnel impact.

Qualifications

• 10+ years overall in SEO or related field with 5+ years in people management
• Deep expertise in SEO strategy, technical and content SEO
• Strong understanding of how LLMs parse content and explain concepts to non-tech stakeholders
• Experience at a site with 2M+ monthly organic visits is preferred
• Proven track record of driving organic growth through innovation and cross-functional influence
• Excellent written and verbal communication; external thought leadership is a plus

Responsibilities

• Own and lead organic acquisition strategy for Cars.com across technical, content, and LLM optimization
• Partner with Product, Engineering, and UX to align roadmaps and drive SEO engineers
• Regularly audit site health, performance, and competitors
• Collaborate with Editorial to identify content opportunities aligned with consumer intent and goals
• Develop frameworks for content testing and AI-assisted copywriting
• Lead and mentor a two-person team and collaborate with Paid Media for full-funnel success
• Advise on B2B and investor sites and share best practices with dealer SEO teams
• evangelize SEO across the organization and foster a culture of innovation and accountability

Skills

SEO strategy

Technical SEO

Content SEO

Leadership

Cross-functional influence

Communication

LLM awareness

Tools

Google Search Console

GA4

SEMrush

Ahrefs

Screaming Frog

Lumar

Job description

Cars.com LLC is seeking a strategic Director of Organic Acquisition to lead SEO growth across Cars.com and related sites. You will guide technical, content, and AI-driven initiatives, partner with Product, Engineering and Editorial, and build a high-performing team to drive traffic, leads, and brand health.

The role emphasizes innovation in AI-enabled search, strong measurement of rankings, and collaboration with Paid Media for full-funnel impact.