Technology Research at Riot exists to give the company early conviction on technologies that could redefine how games are built and played. Our work spans Game AI, Next-Generation AI Games, and Foundational Models, and we combine frontier research with hands-on prototyping to shape Riot's long-term future.

As Director of Research, you will be accountable for the performance, health, and long-term capability of a multi-disciplinary research organization spanning Research Scientists, Software Engineers, and emerging technical roles. You will build and lead the people systems that enable ambitious research to thrive.

You will report to the Head of Research and partner closely on organizational strategy. The Head of Research owns research direction, technical quality bar, and research bets. You own the organizational structure, staffing, performance systems, and talent development that enable that ambition to be realized sustainably and at scale. Together, you form a complementary leadership pair: one defining scientific direction, the other building and sustaining the organization that delivers it.

This is a full-time role based in Los Angeles, CA.
Responsibilities:

Organizational Leadership, Talent Strategy & Performance

• Own end-to-end organizational effectiveness across Tech Research, including performance management, leveling, compensation calibration, and career development across multiple technical craft ladders
• Define and execute headcount planning and staffing strategy in partnership with Research and Technology leadership, aligning talent to long-term research ambitions and roadmap priorities
• Translate research goals and backlog into clear capacity and capability plans, making disciplined staffing decisions across pillars and technical disciplines
• Maintain a high bar for talent density, ensuring researchers and engineers consistently operate at Riot's expected level of craft and impact
• Lead hiring, onboarding, development, and when necessary, performance management and exits with clarity and consistency
• Identify capability gaps and proactively build plans to address them through hiring, development, or structural changes
• Build scalable mentorship systems and strengthen team health, engagement, and sustainability across the organization
• Evolve technical career ladders to support both research innovation and the engineering rigor required to operationalize that work

Culture, Conflict & Craft Excellence

• Resolve interpersonal and cross-disciplinary conflicts with clarity, fairness, and strong judgment
• Foster a culture of intellectual rigor, constructive debate, and accountability
• Reinforce a high technical bar through structured feedback, calibration, and performance systems
• Build an environment where ambitious, exploratory research and hands-on engineering coexist productively

Strategic Partnership

• Partner with the Head of Research on organizational strategy and long-term planning
• Provide input into research prioritization discussions, ensuring organizational capacity aligns with technical ambition
• Partner with the Head of Research to define what 'Impact' looks like in a research context, ensuring performance systems reward both successful prototypes and valuable 'fast-failures'
• Surface talent risks, organizational friction, and scaling challenges early
• Ensure the research organization is structured to execute against evolving research bets

Cross-Organizational Leadership

• Represent Tech Research as the organizational leader of the function within broader Technology leadership forums
• Partner with central Talent, HR, and compensation partners to ensure rigorous calibration and leveling practices
• Collaborate with peer leaders across Riot to ensure Research is well-integrated and positioned for long-term impact
• Contribute to broader AI capability planning across Technology

Required Qualifications:

• 10+ years of experience in research, engineering, or technical organizations
• 4+ years managing senior technical ICs across multiple disciplines
• Experience leading AI/ML or frontier research organizations
• Demonstrated success leading performance management, compensation calibration, and leveling across different craft ladder
• Proven track record hiring and developing senior researchers and engineers
• Experience scaling or evolving a technical organization while maintaining a high quality bar
• Strong judgment in resolving conflict and navigating high-ambiguity environments
• Excellent communication skills across technical and executive audiences

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience managing hybrid research and engineering teams
• Experience building mentorship frameworks across multiple technical disciplines
• Background in game development, applied AI, or interactive systems
• Track record of improving organizational sustainability and performance in fast-growing technical teams

For This Role, You'll Find Success Through:

• Experience enabling technical leadership through aligned organizational execution
• Principled and fair leadership in moments of ambiguity
• High standards paired with empathy and accountability
• Strong partnership with technical leadership
• Building an organization that is ambitious, sustainable, and respected

For this role, you'll find success through craft expertise and a collaborative spirit that prioritizes the delight of players. We will look at your past studies and experience, but for this role, we also look for dedicated people with a personal relationship with games. If you embody player empathy and care about players' experiences, this is 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.