Riot Games

Principal Publishing Product Manager - Unpublished R&D Product

Riot Games$150K — $180K *
Media
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 10-12+ years of experience in publishing product management or related fields.
  • Expert in shaping digital products or platforms during early development stages.
  • Strong ability to translate player insights into effective product strategies.
  • Skilled in developing and testing audience positioning and product-market fit hypotheses.
  • Solid understanding of digital live-service games and player life cycle strategy.
  • Proven experience leading cross-functional initiatives with senior stakeholders.
  • Excellent strategic thinking, communication, and influence capabilities.
  • Ability to work independently with limited oversight.

Responsibilities

  • Serve as the senior publishing product partner within the development team, ensuring publishing insights influence product decisions.
  • Define target audiences, understand player needs, and identify market opportunities.
  • Integrate player and market insights into product strategy and roadmap planning.
  • Develop comprehensive publishing strategies and go-to-market plans from concept to launch.
  • Assess product scope and investment recommendations based on player value and market potential.
  • Identify early development opportunities within the player ecosystem and competitive landscape.
  • Establish success metrics for product validation and long-term engagement.
  • Lead cross-functional efforts to prepare for regional product launches and live operations.

Benefits

  • Open paid time off policy promoting work/life balance.
  • Flexible work schedules to accommodate personal needs.
  • Medical, dental, and life insurance coverage.
  • Parental leave for employees and their partners.
  • 401k plan with company matching contribution.
Full Job Description
Riot Games is looking for a Principal Publishing Product Manager to embed with an early-stage development team working on an unannounced project.

As an embedded member of the development team, you will bring player, market, and publishing perspectives into product development from its earliest stages. You will help shape the product vision, define target audiences and target markets, validate player value, and identify what must be true for the experience to succeed.

Working closely with Product, Design, Insights, Development, Publishing, and regional teams, you will drive learning, inform product decisions, and build the publishing strategy from the ground up. As the product moves to launch, you will lead publishing readiness and go-to-market planning, helping prepare the product for a successful global launch and long-term player success.
Responsibilities:
  • Serve as the senior publishing product partner embedded within the development team, representing player and publishing perspective in product tradeoff discussions, ensuring publishing considerations meaningfully influence development and launch decisions.
  • Define target audiences, player needs, value propositions, and market opportunities.
  • Bring player, audience, market, and publishing insights into product strategy & roadmap decisions
  • Develop the publishing strategy, positioning, and go-to-market plan from concept through launch and into live operations.
  • Evaluate product scope, sequencing, and investment recommendations based on player value and market opportunity.
  • Identify potential ecosystem, connected player experiences, community, competitive, and regional opportunities early in development.
  • Define success metrics for product validation, launch readiness, and long-term player engagement + value.
  • Align senior stakeholders around strategic choices, risks, tradeoffs, and next steps.
  • Lead cross-functional publishing readiness, ensuring the product is prepared for successful regional launches and long-term live operations.
Required Qualifications:
  • 10-12+ years of experience in publishing product management, product management, product strategy, go-to-market strategy, or a related discipline.
  • Expertise in shaping a digital product or platform during early development.
  • Expertise in translating will be player and market insights into product strategy and prioritization.
  • Expertise in developing and testing audience, positioning, or product-market-fit hypotheses.
  • Strong understanding of digital products, live-service games, and player lifecycle strategy.
  • Expertise in leading ambiguous, cross-functional initiatives with senior stakeholders.
  • Strong strategic thinking, communication, facilitation, and influence skills.
  • Ability to operate independently with limited oversight.
Desired Qualifications:
  • Experience working within game development or R&D environments.
  • Experience supporting products from concept through validation, early production, and launch.
  • Experience developing products that span multiple player touchpoints or connected experiences.
  • Familiarity with competitive ecosystems and social play.
  • Experience with global audience development and regional market testing.
  • Experience developing phased go-to-market or test-and-learn approaches.
  • Personal interest in games and emerging player experiences.


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 benefits pages for more information.

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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