Manager, Technical Game Design - Teamfight Tactics

Los Angeles, USA

Job Id: REQ-0010216

Technical Game Designers on the Teamfight Tactics team are game designers who also have access to the C++ code base. They apply the team’s engineering principles to technical design work, improve and add to existing design tools to unblock design tasks (sometimes unblocking themselves, in their game design role!), and own gameplay and systems design areas. Their game design expertise lets them dream up and create memorable gameplay experiences for TFT players, and their technical expertise lets them deliver those experiences in a robust, sustainable, and elegant way.

As the Technical Design Manager on the Teamfight Tactics team, you’ll manage Technical Game Designers across the project. You'll see to their career progress, evaluate their technical and game design contributions, bring out their best work, and ensure they're delivering on their teams' goals. In turn, you'll report to the Design Director, helping to build the Technical Game Design subdiscipline on the team and for League Studios, and maximizing the TD group’s impact. But: on the Teamfight Tactics team, design managers often take on individual contributions, so you’ll have plenty of chances to exercise your own craft as well.

Responsibilities:

• Manage the project’s technical game designers: help them grow, learn, and perform to their potential.
• Maintain a high craft bar: Ensure that the work you oversee meets Riot's demanding craft standards
• Advocate for players: Stay in tune with the player experience and know how to understand and incorporate their feedback into roadmaps and feature decisions
• Collaborate and build trust: Work closely with other discipline leads and managers to ensure Tech Design is delivering what they need, when they need it; ensure that features can be scoped efficiently so project plans can be built; and foster relationships with teams outside of Teamfight Tactics
• Build strong teams: Take an active role in recruiting and onboarding to ensure capable technical game designers join our teams and ramp up quickly

Required Qualifications:

• 6+ years of experience as a technical game designer, gameplay engineer, or some similar position closely associated with both technical and game design work
• 2+ years of experience as a manager, team lead, or discipline leader (can overlap with the above requirement)
• Craft: Craft interviews for this role will look at both gameplay engineering and game design skills; we’d like to see Senior level craft expertise in one, but not necessarily both
• Management: You'll need leadership experience resolving conflict within and across teams and fostering healthy team culture, along with examples of managing other designers with positive results: promotion, performance improvement, and strong delivery to players
• High familiarity with Teamfight Tactics, or willingness to rapidly build that familiarity

Desired Qualifications:

• 4+ years of experience as a manager or team lead
• 8+ years of experience as a technical game designer or gameplay engineer
• Experience growing both junior and senior designers or engineers - striking the right balance of assistance and autonomy
• Experience working on a live service game
• Deep engagement with Teamfight Tactics over multiple sets
• Experience working in the Unreal Engine

For this role, you'll find success through craft expertise and a collaborative spirit that prioritizes the delight of players. We will look at your past studies and experience, but for this role, we also look for dedicated people with a personal relationship with games. If you embody player empathy and care about players' experiences, this is 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. 

• (Los Angeles Only) Base salary range between $185,200.00 - $258,000.00 USD + incentive compensation + equity + 401K with company match + medical, dental, vision, and life insurance + short and long-term disability + open PTO.