Principal Software Engineer, Riot Games
Gameplay, Teamfight Tactics
$229.2-319.5k
+ Incentive compensation + Equity
Player-focused game development platform
Be an early applicant
Player-focused game development platform
1001+ employees
Be an early applicant
$229.2-319.5k
+ Incentive compensation + Equity
1001+ employees
Company mission
To be the most player-focused game company in the world.
Role
Who you are
- 6+ years of game development experience
- 4+ years of professional experience in C++
- Significant experience with client/server architectures and server authoritative games
- Strong knowledge of common game and software design patterns
- Proficiency using game engines (ex. Unity, Unreal Engine )
- Experience with profiling and addressing performance problems in a real time graphical application
- Experience with building game content tools and pipelines
- Experience with software development, including shipping one or more products on large code bases that span a range of platforms and tools
- Experience collaborating across departments to create solutions
- Product sense, pragmatism, and player empathy in making tech decisions
- BS in Computer Science, or proven understanding of Computer Science fundamentals
- 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!
Desirable
- Familiarity with Teamfight Tactics
- Experience with Python, Lua, HTML/CSS, or Javascript
- Familiarity with digital content creation tools such as Maya, PhotoShop, 3D Studio Max, Wwise etc
What the job involves
- As a Principal Software Engineer (Gameplay / Gameplay Tools) in the Teamfight Tactics team, you will create new gameplay mechanics, develop tools and workflows that make it easier for designers and artists to create awesome experiences for our players, and ensure that we can ship our game across all platforms every two weeks while maintaining quality
- You will work as part of a multidisciplinary team consisting of artists, designers, engineers, producers, and QA
- You will report to an Engineering manager on the Teamfight Tactics team
- Build in-game features, including new functionality for champions, traits, and set mechanics in TFT that cannot be executed on by design alone
- Make it easier for developers to create awesome experiences by improving their tools and workflows
- Build foundational capabilities for integrating gameplay with art, audio, and UI
- Collaborate on technical/architectural discussions
- Contribute to architecture requirements, technical design, and implementation for relevant systems
- Ensure exceptional code quality by adhering to engineering excellence which includes: code maintainability, quality, monitoring, code reviews, and documentation
- Provide mentorship to engineers, tech artists, and tech designers
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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