Riot Games

Manager, Software Engineering, Core Services - VALORANT

Riot Games$192K — $269K *
Consumer Technology
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 5+ years in software engineering focusing on services development.
  • 2+ years of leadership experience as an Engineering Manager.
  • Track record of influencing technical direction and architecture decisions.
  • Proficiency in C#, Java, Golang, or similar programming languages.
  • Experience with Agile or Lean development methodologies.
  • Familiarity with cloud technologies and cloud computing.
  • Background in building large-scale, customer-facing backend systems.

Responsibilities

  • Manage and mentor a team of 5-10 software engineers.
  • Ensure excellent service experience for VALORANT players across regions.
  • Act as a hands-on engineering leader involved in product lifecycle phases.
  • Develop and communicate a technical vision aligned with product goals.
  • Advocate for players and development teams in technology decisions.
  • Establish quality standards for team output while encouraging innovation.
  • Create a collaborative environment that addresses challenges and celebrates achievements.

Benefits

  • Open paid time off policy promoting work/life balance.
  • Flexible work schedules to accommodate personal needs.
  • Comprehensive medical, dental, and life insurance coverage.
  • Parental leave for all caregivers in the family.
  • 401k plan with company match to support financial planning.
Full Job Description
As an Engineering Manager, you will gain organizational alignment by building a strong engineering vision and offering creative solutions to organizational design. You'll also serve as a mentor for a team of engineers, overseeing performance management, growth opportunities, and accountability.

VALORANT is Riot's take on a character-based tactical shooter (for more info on VALORANT click here !). As a Manager, Software Engineering (Services) in VALORANT's Core Services team, you will lead a team of engineers responsible for the core game services that power VALORANT, a global live-service game with millions of daily active Players. You will lead development of new services, drive evergreen improvements to existing services, improve standards and frameworks to improve services development across VALORANT, and improve the tools and pipelines used to load test, ship, and operate those services. You will work closely with technical teams in Tencent to improve services delivery and operations in China, closing divergences in developer experience and platform behavior between Tencent and Riot regions. You will report to the Senior Manager, Software Engineering (Platform Engineering) for the VALORANT Foundations area.

Responsibilities:
  • Manage a team of 5-10 Software Engineers across experience levels.
  • Ensure VALORANT Players receive a consistently great services experience in Riot and Tencent regions.
  • Serve as a hands-on engineering leader, comfortable contributing across all phases of the product lifecycle, including implementation.
  • Develop a technical vision for your team, working with production and product partners to ensure consistency with overall product goals. Communicate this vision to your team clearly.
  • Advocate for Players, your team, and internal development customers when deciding what to build and why. Coordinate with other teams across Riot and Tencent working on Services technology.
  • Ensure high technical quality of what your team produces. Establish mechanisms to ensure your engineers have room to invent while maintaining a technical backstop for them.
  • Foster a collaborative, challenging, and satisfying environment for your development team. Find and surface issues, opportunities, and address them head-on. Celebrate wins.
  • Coach and develop your engineering team to grow in their roles, develop technical skills, and improve their effectiveness.
  • Champion and model Riot's values, setting the tone for your team and peers.
  • Participate in your team's on-call rotation.

Required Qualifications:
  • 5+ years professional experience as a software engineer working in services development roles.
  • 2+ years experience directly leading an engineering team as an Engineering Manager.
  • Professional experience driving technical direction and influencing architecture within a team.
  • Expertise with C#, Java, Golang, or similar language(s).
  • Professional experience with Lean or Agile development processes (Scrum, Kanban, etc).
  • Professional experience working with cloud computing and cloud technologies.
  • Professional experience building large-scale external customer-facing backend systems, game services, or cloud platforms.

Desired Qualifications:
  • Fluent in written and spoken Mandarin Chinese and English; comfortable communicating technically in both languages.
  • Professional or academic experience working with C++.

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.

  • (Los Angeles Only) Base salary range between $192,500.00 - $269,400.00 USD + incentive compensation + equity + 401K with company match + medical, dental, vision, and life insurance + short and long-term disability + open PTO.

About Riot Games

Riot Games is a video game developer and publisher based in Los Angeles, California. The company was founded in 2006 by Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill, and is best known for its flagship game, League of Legends. The game has become one of the most popular esports titles in the world, with millions of players and fans around the globe. Riot Games is committed to creating high-quality, immersive gaming experiences that bring people together and foster a sense of community. The company is also dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusion in the gaming industry, and has launched several initiatives to support underrepresented groups.
Learn more about Riot Games
Size
2,500 employees
Industry
Founded
2006

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