Senior Manager of Technical Program Management, Riot Games
$206.7-289k
Salary for Los Angeles only. + Incentive compensation + Equity
Player-focused game development platform
Open for applications
Player-focused game development platform
1001+ employees
Open for applications
$206.7-289k
Salary for Los Angeles only. + Incentive compensation + Equity
1001+ employees
Company mission
To be the most player-focused game company in the world.
Role
Who you are
- 8+ years of relevant industry experience
- Experience growing teams and direct reports to achieve organizational goals
- Excellent teamwork, team leadership, communication, and stakeholder management
- Experience with iterative development methodologies like Scrum & Agile, and ALM tooling (i.e. JIRA)
- Experience implementing delivery solutions for technical teams in alignment with product roadmaps and strategic priorities
- Understanding technical components of projects including architecture, tools and deployment practices that development teams employ
- Desire to improve Riot's ability to make the impossible happen for players
- For this role, you'll find success through craft expertise and collaboration that prioritizes your fellow Rioters, who are the customers of your work
- Being a dedicated fan of games is not necessary for this position!
Desirable
- Previous program experience in a large distributed organization
- Experience managing programs that build and deploy products or infrastructure solutions on a global scale
- Experience managing hardware/software/video game products through the entire life cycle – from conception, development and launch to maintaining and operating a live service
- Experience working on a variety of software products in the gaming or entertainment space
What the job involves
- As the Senior Manager, Technical Program Management for Live Operations, you will lead a team of Technical Program Managers, providing them with leadership and direction in the successful delivery of projects and programs critical to maintaining the stability, performance, and recovery capabilities of our live game portfolio
- This demands not only precise and comprehensive planning encompassing all phases of the project lifecycle but also unwavering, reliable execution that minimizes disruption and maximizes efficiency
- A crucial element of this role is the cultivation of strategic foresight, enabling you to anticipate future challenges and opportunities within the live operations landscape
- Your central responsibility involves the direct oversight and management of complex technical initiatives, proactively identifying and resolving critical incidents and underlying issues that could impact game services and player experience
- A fundamental requirement for success in this position is your adeptness at synthesizing intricate technical details and articulating them into clear, concise, and understandable strategic objectives
- This ensures seamless alignment and a shared understanding of goals across diverse engineering, product, and operational teams, thereby fostering a culture of operational excellence and continuous improvement
- Beyond project delivery, you will be instrumental in the professional development of your team, actively guiding and mentoring technical program managers to enhance their skills, methodologies, and impact
- You will also forge strong collaborative partnerships with technical product managers and engineering managers, ensuring a unified and cohesive approach to live operations strategy and execution
- Lead a team of mid to senior technical program managers who coordinate and deliver multiple high-profile, complex, technical projects affecting teams across Riot
- Lead efforts to continuously improve Riot’s ability to develop collaboratively with other teams in Riot
- Facilitates alignment of cross disciplinary teams working towards common goals
- Grows team knowledge and implementation of program management best practices
- Understand fiscal practices and controls, recording, and reporting on program expenditures & ROI
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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