Software Engineer - Player Platform, Core Game Loop

Riot engineers bring deep knowledge of specific technical areas but also value the opportunity to work in a variety of broader domains. As a Software Engineer, you’ll also dive into projects that focus on team cohesiveness and cross-team objectives. You’ll lead without authority and provide other engineers with a clear illustration of extraordinary engineering.

As a Software Engineer on the Core Game Loop team, you will design and operate services that support Riot’s players across the globe and help games get into player’s hands faster. The Core Game Loop owns services that power the player experience while they are in game and deliver data to downstream services after a game is completed. This includes game provisioning, game data delivery and services that power leaderboards and match history. By concentrating expertise in game platforms, we are able to offer robust, scalable features to all current and future Riot games. 

You will report to the Engineering Manager of the Core Game Loop team within Player Platform.

Responsibilities:

• Design and implement features that are scalable and resilient.
• Write clean, maintainable, and well-documented code that adheres to team standards and best practices.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including game team customers, to deliver robust features and services.
• Participate in rotational on-call for live product support and operational ownership.
• Contribute to code reviews, sprint planning, and team discussions to share knowledge and improve processes.
• Write unit tests and scenario tests to ensure the quality of our services.

Required Qualifications: 

• Bachelor's or Master’s degree in Computer Science or a related field or relevant professional experience.
• 2+ years of hands-on programming experience in a backend programming language such as Java or Go.
• Experience with distributed systems and maintaining web services.
• Experience with API development and/or microservices.
• Experience with a relational database (eg MySQL) and/or key value store (eg Redis).

Desired Qualifications:

• Familiarity with containerization and orchestration tools (eg Docker, Kubernetes)
• Familiarity with cloud providers such as AWS, GCP or Azure.
• Familiarity with a queuing or stream-processing platform, such as Kafka.

For this role, you'll find success through craft expertise, a collaborative spirit, and choices that focus on your fellow Rioters, who are the customers of your work. Being a dedicated fan of games is not necessary for this position!

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.Riot Games fosters a player and workplace experience that values teamwork embodied by the Summoner's Code and Community Code. Our culture embraces differences as a strength, and our values are the guiding principles for how we approach work. We are committed to putting diversity and inclusion (D&I) at the center of everything we do and promoting a fair and collaborative culture where Rioters treat one another with dignity and respect. We encourage you to read more about our value of thriving together and our ongoing work to build the most inclusive company in Gaming.

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.