Gameplay Software Engineer Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

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.
Engineers join Riot to become masters of their craft. They bring a deep passion for helping bring joy to players via technical solutions. In Foundations, we focus on the game engine, content pipelines, developer workflows, and other critical core capabilities.
As a Staff Software Engineer on VALORANT's Foundations Developer Experience & Workflows team, you will work directly on VAL's development team, hand-in-hand with engineers, designers, artists, producers, and QA to build systems that enable them to move faster, work with greater confidence, and deliver amazing new experiences to players. To do this, you will design and evolve the platforms, tools, and workflows that power how VALORANT's game developers create, iterate on, and validate content for both PC and console. Your work will span a diverse set of technical areas, adapting VALORANT's development platform to meet needs wherever they emerge. This includes leveraging AI to accelerate development while establishing the appropriate guardrails for trust, quality, and reliability. This role will report to the Engineering Manager on the Foundations Developer Experience & Workflows team.
Responsibilities:

• Create tools and systems that improve developer experience and efficiency.
• Work with stakeholders across the organization to address their pain points and exceed their expectations for what development on VALORANT can be.
• Influence software engineering best practices for development.
• Develop sustainable solutions that are testable, robust, and will ensure a consistent player experience across platforms.
• Provide mentorship to more junior members of the team.
• Contribute to development efforts through effective breakdown and execution on multi-month development efforts.

Required Qualifications:

• 6+ years of professional experience in software engineering, including experience delivering live or shipped games at scale
• 2+ years professional experience with Unreal Engine
• 2+ years professional experience with C++
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and/or equivalent experience
• Have collaborated on cross-team development efforts (3+ months in scope), including requirements gathering, planning, and release

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience serving on a team that builds player-facing areas of a live game, such as characters, maps, modes, systems, or other in-game experiences.
• Experience building shared game development tooling

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.