Principal UX Designer, Riot Games
MMO
$196.9-275.2k
+ Incentive compensation + Equity
Player-focused game development platform
Open for applications
Player-focused game development platform
1001+ employees
Open for applications
$196.9-275.2k
+ Incentive compensation + Equity
1001+ employees
Company mission
To be the most player-focused game company in the world.
Role
Who you are
- 7+ years industry experience, having led significant portions of the UX for at least one shipped game title or major release of a live service game
- Experience working in game engines implementing features from scratch
- Experience creating prototypes of varying degrees of fidelity
- Experience with Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, Sketch or other industry design and prototyping tools
- Experience designing in-game or around-game UX systems
- Deep level of understanding, passion, and engagement with online multiplayer games
Desirable
- Direct experience building UX for MMO games
- Experience with Game Engine tools like C++, Unreal, OpenGL, etc
- Depth of programming abilities (e.g., Gameplay and UI vs. Game Logic) vs. prototyping
- Experience with adjacent game design areas like combat, meta systems, or social systems
- Familiarity with the LoL IP
What the job involves
- As a Principal UX Designer on our MMO team, you’ll own all aspects of the user experience across large areas of the game
- You will consider UI, presentation, interactions, and driving great player behavior through systems
- You are comfortable operating in an ambiguous environment where the team owns its own goals, and where change, big and small, is a critical part of the process
- You will also be very hands on in the build, implementing and iterating on your designs. You will report to the Design Director on the team
- Lead UX design across multiple workstreams, focusing on the interaction design and player flows for these areas
- Deliver appropriate UX design artifacts (wireframes, user flows, etc) and prototype UI
- Implement and iterate in engine to translate our intentions to reality
- Support high level design in developing systems such as control schemes, HUDs, and menu UI/UX flow
- Break down experiences thoughtfully for teams to ship value incrementally (i.e., Minimum viable experience), making appropriate trade-offs between fidelity and functionality
- Establish experiential quality metrics and interaction consistency across player-facing systems
- Partner closely with creative to create a visual design that elevates the thematic and immersive experience of Runeterra
- As a User Experience Designer, you will design, tweak, and optimize the player experience
- Your analytical skills, player insight, and creativity aid in crafting in- and out-of-game experiences that engage and surprise players
- You will collaborate with interdisciplinary teams and work with every tool at hand to innovate and iterate player-focused designs that'll delight millions around the world
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.
Salary benchmarks
We don't have enough data yet to provide salary benchmarks for this role.
Submit your salary to help other candidates with crowdsourced salary estimates.
Share this job
View 42 more jobs at Riot Games