Principal Software Engineer, Riot Games
ML Focused, League Studio, League Data Central
$218.3-304.3k
+ Incentive compensation + equity
Player-focused game development platform
Be an early applicant
Player-focused game development platform
1001+ employees
Be an early applicant
$218.3-304.3k
+ Incentive compensation + equity
1001+ employees
Company mission
To be the most player-focused game company in the world.
Role
Who you are
- Riot engineers bring deep knowledge of specific technical areas but also value the opportunity to work in a variety of broader domains
- Our engineers are player-focused and aim to find solutions that make players excited to experience our games
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent experience
- Prior experience as a technical leader setting technical vision and building alignment with senior level engineering leaders across multiple teams
- 10+ years of software development experience, with a focus on data systems and live machine learning systems
- Experience developing large-scale, performant, distributed data solutions on cloud infrastructure
- Deep hands-on experience in complex system design, object-oriented system design, scale, and performance tuning
- Deep hands-on experience in complex event driven architectures in a variety of technologies
- Strong expertise in both Kafka and Spark
- Experience in microservice architectures
- Strong background in MLOps practices, including CI/CD for ML, automated testing, and model monitoring
- We will be looking at your past studies, experience, and your personal relationship with games
- If you embody player empathy and care about the experiences of players, this could be the role for you!
Desirable
- Experience building test automation and CI/CD
- AWS preferred
- Experience with reinforcement learning and its application in interactive systems or games
- Game engineering and architecture
What the job involves
- Principal Engineers, at Riot, are often called on to help with the hardest problems on a project by using their expertise to find creative solutions and being hands-on in writing code
- As a Principal Software Engineer on the League Data Central team, you'll spearhead the development of cutting-edge, ML-powered game features and robust backend services that process data at a global scale
- Your expertise will shape our technical direction, creating data products that elevate the experience for players, Rioters, and the entire League Studio ecosystem
- League Studio includes League of Legends, Team Fight Tactics and Wild Rift has over 150 million monthly active users
- Your role extends beyond coding – you'll be a visionary leader, defining domain architecture and aligning technology strategies with enterprise goals
- You'll mentor teams, drive innovation, and champion data-driven solutions that showcase the immense value of our work
- From high-throughput data pipelines to live ML models interfacing directly with our games, you'll push the boundaries of what's possible in data technology
- Your executive presence and industry insight will be crucial as you guide us towards the bleeding edge, always weighing the tradeoffs to make informed decisions
- Reporting to the League Data Central Engineering Manager, you'll be at the forefront of Riot's data revolution, empowering our teams to create unparalleled experiences for players and Rioters alike
- Set, lead, and contribute to technical vision and direction, using your expertise to guide tough technical decisions
- Lead technical design and implementation of solutions to complex data problems
- Drive collaboration and alignment with stakeholders within our business unit and beyond
- Mentor and coach to lift the expertise of the engineering and data science teams
- Promote adherence to engineering excellence including code maintainability, quality, monitoring, operational excellence, and documentation
- Constantly innovate to improve player experience and unlock the value of data at Riot
- For this role, you'll find success through craft expertise, a collaborative spirit, and decision-making that prioritizes the delight of players
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
Some candidates hear
back within 2 weeks
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 values
- Player experience first
- Dare to dream
- Thrive together
- Execute with excellence
- Stay hungry, stay humble
Company HQ
Sawtelle, Los Angeles, CA
Articles
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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