Product Manager II

Be essential at Cars Commerce

At Cars Commerce, we’re fanatical about simplifying everything about car buying and selling. We do right by our customers and consumers to better connect the industry with simplified and tierless technology to enhance, measure and drive local automotive retail. Whether through our No.1 most recognized marketplace, Cars.com, our industry-leading digital experience, Dealer Inspire, our trade and appraisal technology, AccuTrade, our reputation-based digital wholesale auction marketplace, Dealerclub, or our new Cars Commerce Media Network, Cars Commerce is essential for success in the automotive industry.

No one ever travels alone here: at its core, Cars Commerce is collaboration. In fact, it’s built into the very fabric of our shared values. We like to say we Rise Together – putting people at the center of what we do, from consumer to customer to community. Life at Cars Commerce makes it easy when we share the ethos to be Open to All, encouraging open-minded communication because we know diverse thinking yields better outcomes. But critical to our success is Caring to Challengeand Taking Ownership, fueling a competitive spirit in a respectful environment where we think about tomorrow but act today. At our foundation, we have integrity, Doing the Right Thing, even when it’s hard. It’s our shared commitment to these values that makes Cars Commerce a place where growth becomes not only possible, but downright unavoidable.

But don’t take our word for it. As a U.S. News & World Report Best Company to Work For in 2024, we're obsessive about the employee experience. We are among the top 20% being declared “Best” of our industry based on six critical factors that are important to employee wellbeing, like quality of pay, benefits, work life balance and more.

AccuTrade is looking for a Product Manager who is a highly motivated individual with a strong technical & customer focused background to support our consumer and API business. This role includes front-end ownership of the AccuTrade experience on Cars.com and dealer websites.  It also includes managing the API business and other integrations across OEM, Digital Retailing and Dealer Group partnerships. This role encompasses optimizing consumer front-end experiences,  managing customer & partner relationships & understanding the intricacies of the AccuTrade API.  Doing so will extend AccuTrade’s sales and retention efforts with dealers across the automotive industry and provide consumers with the most accurate vehicle valuations available.  This role will be instrumental in increasing AccuTrade’s dealer market share and product growth.

This position will own front-end A/B testing to optimize AccuTrade lead volume and the consumer experience.  It also involves working directly with dealer customers, our sales and other product team members to improve/ support the product offerings; related to any AccuTrade product component that touches the consumer.  These product components could reside on the Cars.com front-end, dealer websites or from a purely API perspective; where customers leverage their own front-end.  Once features are developed or integrated for these components, this role will manage the related ongoing support and value demonstration for our customers.  The role’s data analysis skills will be instrumental in generating regular and ad hoc reports to provide insights that drive the AccuTrade business forward.

This role offers an exciting opportunity for individuals who are passionate about automotive technology, eager to build and maintain relationships, and have the analytical prowess to make informed decisions that impact our growth and success.

Essential job functions:

• Customer & Sales Interaction: This role will directly interface with dealer customers, consumers and sales team members to create new product features for AccuTrade.  This interaction will at times be relative to tier 3 support in addition to pure product development. Prior experience working with customers and sales teams is a must for this role.

• Technical Proficiency: This role will become a subject matter expert in the AccuTrade API, understanding its functionality and capabilities thoroughly. It will address partner inquiries, provide technical support, and ensure partners can effectively leverage our API. Prior experience working with APIs is a plus but not required.

• Relationship Management: This role will maintain relationships with OEMs, Digital Retailers, and Dealer Groups. It will help manage partner expectations, facilitate meetings, and ensure the delivery of exceptional customer service. This position will serve as the subject matter expert and point of contact for AccuTrade consumer related end-to-end processes. 

• Data Analysis: This role will utilize data analysis skills to create, manage, and deliver regular and ad hoc reports to partners, improve the consumer experience and develop new product offerings. 

This role is designed for individuals who thrive in a dynamic and technology-driven environment, where they can leverage their technical expertise, relationship management skills, and data analysis acumen to propel AccuTrade’s presence and success within the automotive industry. If you are ready to be at the forefront of innovation and growth, we invite you to consider this exciting opportunity.

Required experience:

• 4+ years in a product management role that had direct interaction with customers and a sales team

• 4+ years working with technical teams in product development, preferably with exposure to API and/ or data feed integration technology

• 5+ years bringing developed products to market, working with sales, marketing, operations and customers on implementation

• 3+ years working in a partnership environment that facilitated customer service business practices and ongoing reporting of value demonstration

• Past experience in distilling complex ideas and data analysis into easy to understand presentations to internal and external stakeholders

• Understanding of the vehicle remarketing value chain is a plus

• Prior experience in automotive software, focused on vehicle remarketing, is a plus

• Proficiency with remote collaboration software such as Google Suite, Zoom, Slack

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Our Comprehensive Benefits Package includes:

• Medical, Dental & Vision Healthcare Plans
• New Hire Stipend for Home Office Set-Up
• Generous PTO
• Refuel - a service based recognition program where employees receive additional paid time away to learn grow and reset
• Paid Holidays, Floating Holiday, Volunteer Day, Recharge Day

Learn more about our Benefits, Perks, & Culture on our LinkedIn Life Pages!

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. California Applicants: Click here to review our California Privacy Policy for Applicants. For current employees, please click here to review our California Privacy Policy for Employees.