Sr. Manager, Insights, Competitive - VALORANT

The Insights discipline helps empower Rioters' decision-making to be more data-informed. We're an interdisciplinary group of scientists, consultants, and strategists from all sorts of backgrounds who join together to represent and advocate for gamers around the world. We believe that illuminating the globally diverse experiences, behaviors, and needs of gamers is critical to Riot living up to our player-focused mission. We're a group united by our love of games, science, and helping others succeed.

You will be joining as a Senior Manager for the Competitive Insights team, which supports the broader Competitive Area that includes teams like Match Services, Player Dynamics, Esports Features, and Premier. You’ll lead and support our Insighters in the Area to inform strategic decision-making, uncover opportunities, and represent needs and pain points for our players. Your team will conduct playtests, experiments, studies, and holistic analyses that guide the Competitive roadmap with clarity and rigor. You will be accountable for delivering high-quality insights and ensuring the team operates effectively by ensuring their work plays a pivotal role in guiding development of our features and/or strategy. Your scientific skill set, background in gameplay systems, strong communication skills, organizational rigor, and leadership capabilities will ensure that we have a high-functioning Insights team that can help ensure our product managers, designers, and Area leadership team have the information they need about our players to make VALORANT the best it has ever been. You will own our product and business validation strategies, help define key product performance targets, and monitor performance against those targets for the Area. You will report to the Insights Lead for VALORANT.

• Build and lead a high-performing team of Insighters—setting priorities, ensuring craft excellence, and promoting continuous improvement in insights delivery.
• Partner with product managers, designers, and VAL Tac leadership to shape strategy, monitor performance in areas like engagement, matchmaking, and player sentiment, and drive decisions grounded in player-centered insights
• Oversee prioritization of Insights efforts, balancing the needs of several stakeholder groups across the Competitive Area
• Frame and executive validation strategies, define key KPIs, and monitor outcomes. Ensure insights are framed into compelling, actionable narratives to inform product direction 
• Mentor and grow Insighters, championing craft standards, collaboration, and strategic problem-solving across Riot’s Insights organization

• 7+ years of professional experience in research, analytics, data-driven strategy, or related fields, with at least 2+ years of managing teams.
• Working knowledge of both analytics and research, with 5+ years specializing in at least one
• A keen ability to translate complex insights into strategic recommendations, influence senior stakeholders, and tell clear data-driven stories.
• Trusted to operate independently regardless of structure, owns larger problems/projects/workstreams
• Excellent teamwork, team leadership, communication, and stakeholder management
• Experience synthesizing & socializing results and distilling them into impactful recommendations for product leadership
• Experience leading complex efforts with multiple collaborators
• Understanding of matchmaking and competitive systems used in multiplayer games used to drive engagement or player sentiment, either through design or personal experience

• Experience working with game teams through the entire lifecycle of the product (development, launch, and live operations) 
• Vendor management 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!

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.