Established in 1998, Cars.com is one of Chicago’s original tech companies. Our online platform makes it easier for consumers to shop for, sell and service their cars. With our expert content, mobile app features, millions of new and used vehicle listings, a comprehensive set of research tools and the largest database of consumer reviews in the industry, Cars.com offers innovative products to connect consumers with dealers across the country. Change is in our DNA, and 2017 has been no exception! We've moved to a new Chicago HQ @ 300 S. Riverside, acquired DealerRater, the largest online ratings platform for car dealerships and became a free-standing, publicly traded company on the NYSE!

A true constant through the years has been the incredible culture we've created. Our employees have cultivated an environment leveraging technology, fostering innovation and embracing collaboration. We take pride in how Cars.com empowers our people to win and gain valuable experiences along the way!

The Principal Interaction Designer collaborates closely with the Product Manager, Visual Designer and Developers to design intuitive products that make the car shopping experience a pleasure. The Interaction Designer is a key driver of product discovery and is responsible for gaining a deep understanding of Cars.com users, their behaviors and their needs. The Interaction Designer facilitates the design conversation and defines future product features while balancing real users’ needs and wants with business goals and technological capabilities. We are looking for creative problem solvers with a passion for innovation to join our team.

The ideal candidate will be able to: 

• Conceptualize and enhance product features for mobile, tablet and desktop usage and validate the value with Cars.com users and our business.
• Create prototypes to communicate design vision to stakeholders and for testing purposes.
• Serve as the user advocate throughout the discovery, definition and development process.
• Elicit and define user interface requirements, including user scenarios, user stories, page flows, task analysis, wireframes and copy.
• Work with visual designers and front-end developers to ensure interaction and visual design is consistent with user interface requirements and usability best practices.
• Help define product releases, and manage user acceptance testing.
• Track and analyze user-behavior metrics and define new metrics when necessary.
• Conduct research tasks including: planning and moderating usability tests, A/B testing, site surveys.
• Analyze test results, and recommend appropriate product/interface changes.
• Lead business and functional requirements gathering when needed.
• Facilitate and lead design discussions with the product team and product stakeholders.
• Offer creative solutions to product-related design/usability challenges, and expose site usability problems.