Manager, Software Engineering - League of Legends, Alternate Play Modes

Riot engineers bring deep knowledge of specific technical areas but also value the chance to work in many broader domains. As the Engineering Manager, you'll be tasked with building the long-term success for your organization by helping define the product vision, mentoring and growing talent, and being accountable for delivering results.

As an  Engineering Manager on the League of Legends Alternate Play Modes theme, you will lead and contribute to an engineering pod that delivers new game modes to the League ecosystem for the future of league of legends. You will maintain and help drive meaningful changes to our list of game modes, modernizing them for the future of League of Legends. You will report to the Senior Engineering Manager for the Alternate Play Modes theme and work in a hybrid environment from our Los Angeles office.

Responsibilities:

• Manage a small group of engineers, providing mentorship, guidance, and career support.
• Contribute directly to implementation, with a focus on UI and player-facing gameplay systems.
• Uphold engineering best practices in maintainability, scalability, testing, and documentation.
• Collaborate with product managers, designers, and artists to deliver meaningful changes to our list of rotating game modes.
• Partner with other engineering groups to ensure technical consistency and integration across League of Legends.

Required Qualifications: 

• 8+ years of professional software engineering experience.
• 2+ years in engineering management or a tech lead role in game development.
• Strong proficiency in C++ and experience with large, complex codebases.
• Proven track record of building and shipping UI/UX features in games or player-facing gameplay systems.
• Comfortable balancing leadership responsibilities while remaining actively hands-on with coding.
• Strong communication skills and ability to collaborate across disciplines.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or equivalent experience.

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.

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. 

• (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.