Team Lead, Software Development Engineering (Communications Platform)

Cargurus; Boston (MA); Hybrid; USD 154,000 - 193,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Salary + Equity

Job summary

CarGurus is seeking a Team Lead on the Communications team to guide the outbound messaging platform, delivering email, push, and SMS to consumers and dealers while shaping the multi-channel strategy. You will balance hands-on engineering with people leadership, oversee architecture decisions, and collaborate across US-based and offshore teams, vendors like Iterable and Twilio.

This role offers a hybrid work model, competitive base salary and equity, and opportunities to influence product

Qualifications

• Minimum 5+ years of software engineering experience.
• At least 1 year of people management or leading technical direction.
• Strong backend focus with Java and API design.
• Experience with AWS and observability tools (Grafana, Honeycomb).
• Experience collaborating with downstream consumers and third-party vendors.
• Familiarity with AI coding tools (Claude) and privacy compliance.
• Nice to have frontend exposure (JavaScript, React Remix, TypeScript).

Responsibilities

• Balance Leadership and Execution: manage a distributed engineering team while contributing to architecture decisions and the codebase.
• Drive Technical Architecture: lead the design, development, and maintenance of backend systems and APIs.
• Foster Team Growth: coach your team and build inclusive, high-trust partnerships across US-based and offshore talent.
• Enable Internal Teams & Manage Vendors: build tools for product teams to launch messaging campaigns and manage vendor integrations (Iterable, Twilio).
• Ensure Compliance and Reliability: champion message delivery performance, system uptime, and privacy regulations.
• Own the Roadmap: translate concepts into roadmaps with Product Managers and manage milestones within two-week sprints.
• Communicate & Advocate: use data to inform decisions and align with senior leadership.

Skills

Software engineering

People management

Backend development

Java

APIs

AWS

Observability

Vendor management

AI tooling

Frontend basics

Tools

Grafana

Honeycomb

Twilio

Iterable

React Remix

TypeScript

Job description

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.

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. 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

As a Team Lead on the Communications team at CarGurus, you will be a player-coach leading the vision for our central outbound digital messaging infrastructure. You will own the platforms responsible for delivering email, push notifications, and SMS to both consumers and dealers. By driving a multi-channel integration strategy with third-party vendors like Iterable and Twilio, you will empower downstream product groups through self-service tools and ensure impactful messaging across every CarGurus touchpoint.

What You’ll Do

• Balance Leadership and Execution: Manage a small, distributed engineering team of direct hires and contractors while actively contributing to architecture decisions and the codebase.
• Drive Technical Architecture: Lead the design, development, and maintenance of robust backend systems and APIs that power our communication services.
• Foster Team Growth: Lead with empathy and active listening to coach your team, building inclusive, high-trust partnerships across US-based and offshore engineering talent.
• Enable Internal Teams & Manage Vendors: Build tools and processes for product teams to easily launch messaging campaigns, and manage technical integrations with essential third-party platforms.
• Ensure Compliance and Reliability: Champion message delivery performance, system uptime, and strict adherence to privacy and marketing regulations in the industry.
• Own the Roadmap: Partner closely with Product Managers to translate vague concepts into actionable roadmaps, setting high standards and taking full ownership of project milestones within our 2-week Scrum sprints.
• Communicate & Advocate: Use data to clearly inform decisions, actively advocating for prioritization with cross-functional downstream partners and senior leadership.

What You'll Bring

• Experience: 5+ years of software engineering experience at scale, with a strong emphasis on backend system development.
• Leadership: 1 year of people management experience or experience leading technical direction and project management, with the desire to transition into formal people management.
• Backend Expertise: Deep, hands-on knowledge of Java, Java-based frameworks, and the design and management of APIs.
• Infrastructure & Observability: Experience working within an AWS ecosystem and utilizing debugging and monitoring tools such as Grafana and Honeycomb.
• Stakeholder Collaboration: A proven track record of articulating business value to downstream consumers and managing complex third-party vendor relationships.
• AI Tools: Experience with AI coding tools like Claude, and knowledge of messaging protocols or privacy compliance.
• Bonus/Nice-to-Have: Direct experience or exposure to frontend technologies (JavaScript, React Remix, TypeScript), and knowledge of messaging protocols or privacy compliance.

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

$154,000—$193,000 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.

CarGurus may require in-person interviews as part of our hiring process, particularly for positions based in our Boston and Dublin offices. Candidates selected for an in-person interview will be notified in advance. Please be aware that travel expenses are the responsibility of the candidate.

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.