Principal Software Engineer

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. 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. Join us in shaping the future of gaming through the power of data. This role will be based out of Los Angeles.

Responsibilities:

• 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

Required Qualifications:

• 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

Desired Qualifications:

• 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

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 the experiences of players, this could be the role for you!

Our Perks:

Riot focuses on work/life balance, shown by our open paid time off policy and other perks such as flexible work schedules. We offer medical, dental, and life insurance, parental leave for you, your spouse/domestic partner, and children, and a 401k with company match. Check out our benefits pages for more information.

Riot Games fosters a player and workplace experience that values teamwork embodied by the Summoner’s Code and Community Code. Our culture embraces differences as a strength, and our values are the guiding principles for how we approach work. We are committed to putting diversity and inclusion (D&I) at the center of everything we do, and promoting a fair and collaborative culture where Rioters treat one another with dignity and respect. We encourage you to read more about our value of thriving together and our ongoing work to build the most inclusive company in Gaming.

It’s our policy to provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants and members of Riot Games, Inc. Riot Games makes reasonable accommodations for handicapped and disabled Rioters and does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, handicap, veteran status, marital status, criminal history, or any other category protected by applicable federal and state law. We consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with applicable federal, state and local law, including the California Fair Chance Act, the City of Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, and the Washington Fair Chance Act.

Per the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, the following core duties may create a basis for disqualifying candidates with relevant criminal histories:

• Safeguarding confidential and sensitive Company data
• Communication with others, including Rioters and third parties such as vendors, and/or players, including minors
• Accessing Company assets, secure digital systems, and networks
• Ensuring a safe interactive environment for players and other Rioters

These duties are directly related to essential operations, safety, trust, and compliance obligations within our organization. Please note that job duties may evolve based on business needs and additional responsibilities may be assigned as necessary to maintain operational efficiency and security.