Riot Games

Senior Manager, Game Design - League of Legends

Riot Games$120K — $150K *
Consumer Technology
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 8+ years of experience in game design roles
  • 3+ years of leadership experience in a game design organization
  • Experience developing a PVP game
  • Experience managing a team of designers
  • Proven track record in recruiting new designers
  • Background in a 'games as a service' environment

Responsibilities

  • Lead game design for new League of Legends projects, ensuring alignment with player expectations and overall strategy
  • Guide and mentor designers, fostering creativity and professional growth
  • Uphold design craft standards and enhance Design Department processes
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams to create impactful player experiences
  • Balance player feedback and data insights to inform design decisions
  • Advocate for the design discipline both internally and externally
  • Cultivate positive relationships with other teams within Riot

Benefits

  • Open paid time off policy
  • Flexible work schedules
  • Medical, dental, and life insurance
  • Parental leave for employees and their families
  • 401k plan with company match
Full Job Description
As a Game Designer, you will design, tweak, and optimize the player experience. Your analytical skills, player insight, and creativity aid in crafting in- and out-of-game experiences that engage and surprise players. You will collaborate with interdisciplinary teams and work with every tool at hand to innovate and iterate player-focused designs that'll delight millions around the world.

As a Senior Manager of Game Design on League of Legends, you'll lead a group of passionate designers as we set up League of Legends for its next 10 years, reporting to the Design Director for League of Legends. You'll partner with discipline leads across the studio to ensure a well managed and staffed discipline, that designers have well supported growth, and that craft execution meets or exceeds our extremely high standards. You'll make significant contributions to wider Design Department processes and rituals. You'll also help mentor designers and design managers across League of Legends.
Responsibilities:
  • Lead game design for new projects, features, and content on League of Legends, ensuring the vision, strategy, and execution align with player expectations, Riot's design values, and the game leadership team's overall product strategy.
  • Guide and mentor designers, setting clear goals, providing continuous feedback, and fostering an environment of creativity, innovation, and professional development.
  • Ensuring design craft standards are upheld across League of Legends, contribute to Design Department processes and rituals, leveling up our approach to things like recruiting, performance assessment and knowledge sharing
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams-including art, product management, engineering, and publishing-to craft resonant experiences.
  • Balance player feedback, data insights, and business objectives to make informed design decisions that deliver on League of Legends' promise of competitive and rewarding gameplay.
  • Represent and advocate for the design discipline both internally to other teams and externally to players.
  • Build positive relationships across other teams at Riot in shared gameplay spaces.
Required Qualifications:
  • 8+ years of experience in game design roles in game development.
  • 3+ years of experience as a leader in a game design organization.
  • Experience working as a developer on a PVP game.
  • Experience in managing a significant team of designers.
  • Demonstrated and substantial experience recruiting new designers.
  • Experience working in a "games as a service" environment.
Desired Qualifications:
  • Strong knowledge and intimate understanding of the League of Legends game experience and what approaches to design best meet its players' needs.
  • Experience working on MOBA or competitive multiplayer titles, with an understanding of core gameplay loops and player motivations.
  • Comfort with data analysis and the ability to leverage insights from user research, telemetry, and other metrics to inform design decisions.
  • Experience managing managers.

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.

At Riot Games, we put players first. That mission drives every decision in our quest to create games and experiences that make it better to be a player. Whether you're working directly on a new player-facing experience or you're supporting the company as a whole, everyone at Riot is part of our mission. And just like in our games, we're better when we work together. Our goal is to create collaborative teams where you are empowered to bring your unique perspective everyday. If that sounds like the kind of place you want to work, we're looking forward to your application.

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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