Riot engineers bring deep knowledge of specific technical areas but also value the opportunity to work across multiple domains. As engineering managers, we gain organizational alignment by building a strong engineering vision and offering creative solutions to organizational design. We also serve as mentors for engineers, guiding their performance and finding growth opportunities delivering compelling gameplay player experiences.
As a Senior Manager, Software Engineering on the Developer Experience team on League of Legends, you will work with a multidisciplinary leadership team to build and evolve League’s internal developer platform, focusing on the tools, workflows, and support systems that enable developers to to build, debug, and ship efficiently. The team owns core components such as the core editor, developer-facing APIs, and platform support, while also driving reliability, reducing workflow friction, and providing responsive, SLA-backed, frontline developer support. This role is based out of Los Angeles.
Responsibilities:- Lead and develop an engineering team of 10–15 engineers and contractors responsible for the internal developer platform for League, setting clear expectations and maintaining a high performance bar
- Mentor engineers and managers, supporting their growth and development into stronger technical and leadership roles
- Define and drive the team’s technical strategy to improve developer workflows that enable feature teams to build and ship new player experiences more efficiently
- Guide strong technical decision-making and ensure sound architectural approaches across the team’s systems and tooling
- Partner with product to ensure engineering resources are aligned to support, stability, and platform improvements that reduce developer friction and improve iteration speed
- Ensure effective developer support through SLA-backed systems and responsive incident handling
- Support the team’s on-call rotation to ensure reliable coverage and sustainable incident response practices
- 10+ years of software engineering experience, including experience operating at a senior or staff engineer level
- 4+ years of engineering management experience, including managing managers and developing engineering leaders
- Proven ability to define and execute technical strategy across a team, aligning engineering efforts with product goals and organizational priorities
- Experience leading teams through complex technical and organizational challenges, including cross-team collaboration and dependency management
- Strong technical foundation with the ability to guide architectural decisions, evaluate system tradeoffs, and ensure high standards of software quality
- Experience with other game engines and toolsets
- Experience with automated testing
- Familiarity with League of Legends or a strong interest in learning
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.
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.
It’s our policy to provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants and members of Riot Games, Inc. Riot Games makes reasonable accommodations for handicapped and disabled Rioters and does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, handicap, veteran status, marital status, criminal history, or any other category protected by applicable federal and state law. We consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with applicable federal, state and local law, including the California Fair Chance Act, the City of Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, and the Washington Fair Chance Act.
Per the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, the following core duties may create a basis for disqualifying candidates with relevant criminal histories:
- Safeguarding confidential and sensitive Company data
- Communication with others, including Rioters and third parties such as vendors, and/or players, including minors
- Accessing Company assets, secure digital systems, and networks
- Ensuring a safe interactive environment for players and other Rioters
These duties are directly related to essential operations, safety, trust, and compliance obligations within our organization. Please note that job duties may evolve based on business needs and additional responsibilities may be assigned as necessary to maintain operational efficiency and security.
Skills Required
- 10+ years of software engineering experience, including operating at a senior or staff engineer level
- 4+ years of engineering management experience, including managing managers and developing engineering leaders
- Proven ability to define and execute technical strategy across a team and align engineering with product and organizational priorities
- Experience leading teams through complex technical and organizational challenges, including cross-team collaboration and dependency management
- Strong technical foundation to guide architectural decisions, evaluate system tradeoffs, and ensure high software quality
- Experience with other game engines and toolsets
- Experience with automated testing
- Familiarity with League of Legends or a strong interest in learning
Riot Games Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Riot Games and has not been reviewed or approved by Riot Games.
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Healthcare Strength — Medical, dental, and vision plans extend to employees, spouses/domestic partners, and children, with mental health and LGBTQIA+ support. Coverage breadth is reinforced by disability insurance and access to wellness and therapy programs.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Open Paid Time Off, company-wide end-of-year and mid-year breaks, and paid sabbaticals provide significant time to disconnect and recharge. These are complemented by holidays, sick time, and paid volunteer time.
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Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — A Wellness Fund, Play Fund, free meals and office snacks/drinks, fitness stipends/classes, and commuter benefits add meaningful day-to-day value. Donation matching and relocation support further enhance the lifestyle component of total rewards.
Riot Games Insights
What We Do
Since 2006, Riot Games has stayed committed to changing the way video games are developed, published, and supported for players. From our first title, League of Legends, to 2020’s VALORANT; we have strived to evolve the community with growth in Esports, and expansion from games into entertainment. Players are the foundation of Riot's community and because of them, we’re able to reach new heights.
