Manager, Software Engineering - VALORANT, Player Dynamics

Riot engineers bring deep knowledge of specific technical areas but also value the opportunity to work in many broader domains. As a Software Engineering Manager on the Player Dynamics team, you’ll also dive into projects that focus on team cohesiveness and cross-team goals. You’ll collaborate with a multidisciplinary leadership team to lead a small, passionate team of developers in the delivery of exciting new features for VALORANT and our players.

VALORANT is Riot’s take on a character-based tactical shooter (for more info on VALORANT click here !) . In this role on the VALORANT Player Dynamics team, you will be responsible for building and improving the full stack of Player Dynamics features in VALORANT: from scalable backend services to performant game client and server tech. You'll own the technical direction for how VALORANT features are built, scale, and are operated in production. You will collaborate heavily with Design, Data Analytics, and Product Management to build in and out of game systems that create new and exciting ways to engage with VALORANT. All the systems you design and build will bring players together and ensure their gaming experience is safe and free of disruptive behavior.

Responsibilities:

Create, review, and reframe an engineering vision with the team and key stakeholders including the Technology, Product, and Process Leads.

Be excited to span the entire VALORANT tech stack - from our golang services and infrastructure internals, to our game client in C++ and UE5 blueprints. We’re not looking for someone who’s an expert across the board, but if you want to stick to your expertise / comfort zone this position may not be for you.

Implement server infrastructure in support of new features.

Collaborate effectively with art, design, and other disciplines within game development.

Identify, recruit, interview, and hire software engineers to help teams scale effectively.

Provide technical expertise throughout the product life cycle including design, implementation, and delivery of features while continuously improving the software engineering quality and efficiency.

Build and manage strong relationships between disciplines

Lead, grow, and coach team members to build talent over the long term

Demonstrate a high bar of craft excellence for your team

Cultivate your team's culture of collaboration, creativity and passion for game making

Partner closely with shared teams at Riot that provide cross game capabilities for things like player inventory

Required Qualifications:

5+ years of experience as a Software Engineer

2+ years experience directly leading an engineering team either as an Engineering Manager or Technical Lead & mentor.

1+ years of experience with C++

1+ years professional experience building distributed systems at scale

Experience working in the games industry

Familiarity working in an agile environment

Experience collaborating across departments and disciplines to create solutions.

Interest in developing high reliability systems that players use to acquire content

Desired Qualifications:

6+ years of experience

2+ years of C++ experience

Experience working on competitive multiplayer games

Experience with Unreal Engine

Deep Engagement with the Shooter Genre

Experience with social or player dynamics systems, in games or not

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!

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