Senior Data Scientist, Riot Games
AI Foundations, ML Bots
$176.7-247k
+ Incentive compensation + Equity
Player-focused game development platform
Open for applications
Player-focused game development platform
1001+ employees
Open for applications
$176.7-247k
+ Incentive compensation + Equity
1001+ employees
Company mission
To be the most player-focused game company in the world.
Role
Who you are
- Bachelor’s degree or higher in computer science, statistics, applied mathematics, or a related quantitative field, or equivalent practical experience
- 3+ years of experience delivering ML systems in production, including reinforcement learning, imitation learning, or simulation-based training in interactive environments such as game worlds or multi-agent simulations; or if from academia, a MS/Ph.D. in a related field with relevant applied experience
- Experience developing predictive features and signals from gameplay telemetry, simulation data, or other complex interactive environments
- Hands-on experience building and optimizing agent-based systems or models for dynamic, player-facing environments
- Experience designing experiments, evaluating models, and optimizing performance for autonomous agents
- Awareness of human considerations in AI applications, such as responsible AI practices, player experience, and UX best practices
- Collaboration experience with cross-disciplinary teams, including game engineers and designers
- Familiarity with integrating ML-driven agents into live game environments
- Proficiency in Python and experience with modern ML/data science libraries and frameworks (e.g., PyTorch or TensorFlow, pandas)
- For this role, you'll find success through craft expertise, a collaborative spirit, and decision-making that prioritizes the delight of players
- We will be looking at your past studies, experience, and your personal relationship with games. If you embody player empathy and care about players' experiences, this could be your role!
What the job involves
- As a Senior Data Scientist specializing in applied machine learning, you will design and deliver Game Understanding Agents
- This includes building and deploying in-game Game AI capabilities that enhance both the player and developer experience
- You will apply methods in reinforcement learning, imitation learning, and simulation-based training for game AI, working closely with engineers on the ML Bots team to bring models from research into production
- IIn addition to delivering high-quality systems, you will contribute to the team’s technical practices by sharing expertise, supporting experimentation, and mentoring junior teammates
- By combining modern ML approaches with knowledge of game mechanics, you will help create autonomous agents that can play, understand, and adapt like real players
- Design and implement ML systems using methods including reinforcement learning and imitation learning (e.g., behavior cloning, inverse reinforcement learning), on-/off-policy algorithms, policy gradient methods, behavior shaping, and hybrid systems that combine learned policies with rule-based or scripted components
- Develop and deploy in-game Game AI capabilities, focusing on training agents that can understand game state, make decisions, and act in ways that create compelling player experiences
- Contribute to build adaptable training and evaluation pipelines, supported by robust tooling designed to capture the title’s specific mechanics, while evolving to meet new gameplay requirements
- Develop predictive features and signals from gameplay telemetry, unstructured game data, and simulation outputs, ensuring quality, interpretability, and reliability
- Collaborate with game and platform engineers, along with UX teams, to integrate autonomous agents into live player environments with high reliability
- Mentor junior team members in applied ML methods and best practices for production AI systems
- Contribute to shared frameworks and tools for autonomous agent development, improving efficiency and maintainability
Our take
Riot Games has grown into one of the world’s most prominent online and mobile game developers, due in large part to the success of its 2009 flagship title League of Legends which hosts just under seventy million users every month.
Riot is riding the wave of online gaming growth, having made a well timed switch from PC-only into mobile-based gaming, as capitalising on the rising popularity of esports, with the League of Legends World Championships one of the most watched events in the space.
However, adding further titles to its resume will be key to building on its success, as League of Legends was its only offering for the best part of a decade. Since being acquired by Chinese tech giant Tencent in 2011, the company has grown significantly in Asian markets, opening its Shanghai Game Studio in 2021 and expanding its China Game Studio Group in 2022. These two hubs will help Riot Games make further inroads in a country where PC gaming is already huge and continues to grow.
Regardless of League of Legends' success both online and in live arenas, the company nevertheless experienced a round of layoffs internationally that amounted to 11% of its workforce. Pair that with legal troubles in 2024 concerning the company’s partnership with now bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, and Riot Games appears to be in a period of transition. Thanks to the strength of its gaming products, however, Riot will no doubt maintain a comfortable position within the gaming world.
Freddie
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
24% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (2 rounds)
Sep 2009
$8m
SERIES C
Jul 2008
$7m
EARLY VC
Total funding: $15m
Company benefits
- We offer medical, dental, and vision plans that cover you, your spouse/domestic partner, and children
- Life insurance, parental leave, plus short-term and long-term disability coverage are also available
- Riot will support your retirement benefits with a company match, and double down on your donations of time and money to non-profit charitable organizations
- Balance between work and personal life is encouraged with open paid time off, and a play fund so you can broaden and deepen your personal relationship with games
Company HQ
Sawtelle, Los Angeles, CA
Leadership
Brandon Beck
(Co-Chairman)Having studied at the University of Southern California, they worked as a Management Consultant at Bain & Company. they left this role in September 2006 to co-found Riot Games, where they served initially as co-CEO.
Marc Merrill
(Co-Chairman)After a degree at the University of Southern California, they worked as a U.S. Bank Analyst and a Manager of Advanstar Communications. They co-founded Riot Games with Brandon in September 2006, alongside being a Principal of NaHCo3 since 2016.
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