Software Development Engineer II
Cargurus
$112,000 - $141,000 / year
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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.
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
CarGurus' Conversion team is looking for a Software Development Engineer II (Backend) to help dealers close more of the leads we send them. We turn shopper activity on our marketplace into a clear picture of who each buyer is and what they're looking for, then recommend the next move to the salesperson working that lead. Thousands of dealerships rely on it every day.
You'll work in the Java and Spring Boot services behind all of this: enriching each lead as it arrives, consuming high-volume event streams, and serving the APIs that power the dashboards dealers work in. It's a small team, so you'll take real ownership early. You'll partner closely with product, design, and other backend and frontend engineers to move projects from technical design through implementation and launch, and you'll see the result in dealer adoption and close rates.
What you'll do
- Design, build, and ship features in the Java and Spring Boot services that enrich every lead and power the insights dealers act on every day
- Own your work from technical design through testing, code review, and production, with support from the team when you need it
- Work with high-volume event streams and the data behind them (Kafka, MongoDB, Redis) to keep shopper data fresh and APIs fast
- Build intelligence features, including LLM-backed ones, that recommend a dealer's next move rather than just handing them data
- Diagnose and fix production issues across services, share in on-call, and improve the alerting and observability we rely on
- Partner with product and design to break ambiguous problems into scoped, shippable work, with a real say in what we build and how
- Help raise the bar on how we test, deploy, and operate the services we own
What you'll bring
- 2-4 years of hands-on software development experience in a professional setting
- Proficiency in Java, ideally with Spring Boot
- Solid working knowledge of MongoDB or another NoSQL datastore, and comfort with SQL
- Practical understanding of RESTful API design, microservices, and distributed systems, including event streams or message queues (Kafka, SQS, or similar) and caching trade-offs
- Hands-on experience with AWS and cloud infrastructure
- A strong understanding of data structures, algorithms, and complexity analysis
- A habit of writing automated tests, and a sense for which tests a change actually needs
- Experience or interest in leveraging AI coding tools to accelerate development (e.g., Claude Code, Cursor)
- Nice to have: Python, and hands-on experience with LLM or agent frameworks such as LangChain or LangGraph
- Clear communication, curiosity, and a bias toward shipping, with genuine interest in learning the dealer domain
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).
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. #LI-Hybrid
Benefits
- stock options
About this role
CarGurus' Conversion team powers the backend systems that turn marketplace activity into actionable dealer intelligence. As a Software Development Engineer II, you'd own Java and Spring Boot services that enrich leads in real time, process high-volume event streams, and serve the APIs dealers rely on daily to close sales. The work spans data enrichment, API design, and building AI-backed recommendation features—all on a small team where you'll take genuine ownership from technical design through production.
You'll need 2–4 years of professional development experience with solid Java and Spring Boot skills, hands-on work with NoSQL databases and event streaming (Kafka or similar), and comfort operating in AWS. Experience with MongoDB, Redis, RESTful APIs, and microservices is expected. You should write automated tests, understand data structures and complexity, and have practical cloud infrastructure experience. Interest in AI coding tools is a plus, as is familiarity with LLM frameworks, though not required.
This is an in-office role in Boston with a base salary of $112,000–$141,000, plus equity, potential bonuses, and a benefits package that includes free lunch, fitness apps, and commuting support. The position suits someone who wants to ship features quickly, communicate clearly across teams, and learn a new domain while working on systems that directly impact dealer adoption and business outcomes.
How this employer is doing
caution
- News: Recently Raised Funding
- News: Award Recognition
- H1B: Sponsors Visas
- Legal Issue
In the news
CarGurus Sued By New York City For Allegedly Lying About Dealership Prices, Jalopnik
This role's local market on JobMinglr
Pay for this role
$112,000 to $141,000 per year
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