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.