Manager, Software Engineering (Services Lead) - Unpublished R&D; Product (Backend)

Company

Riot Games develops and operates player-focused games and related technology.

What you will do

• Lead internal and external engineers supporting product exploration and the development of an unpublished R&D product.
• Define engineering strategy and technical roadmaps for global backend infrastructure.
• Own backend service architecture, scalability, reliability, observability, deployment, incident response, and infrastructure cost from prototype through live operation.
• Plan and execute engineering work, including requirements gathering, technical discovery, design, estimation, and delivery.
• Partner with product, delivery, and central technology teams to shape features and deliver solutions.
• Hire, mentor, and manage engineer performance and career development across internal and external teams.

Requirements

• 6+ years of software engineering experience.
• 4+ years of game development experience across mobile, console, PC, or other platforms.
• 2+ years in an Engineering Manager leadership role directly involved in game production.
• Experience leading feature development through planning, execution, delivery, and post-release support.
• Experience building reliable, scalable, and maintainable backend distributed systems and shipping products on large, multi-platform codebases.
• Experience with modern backend technologies such as Go, Java, C#, or similar.

Nice to have

• Experience developing online games with Unreal Engine and backend services.
• Experience managing co-development or outsourcing relationships.
• Experience leading backend transitions from prototype to production.
• Experience improving live-service uptime, reliability, and operational readiness.
• Familiarity with modern game platforms and development practices.

Culture & Benefits

• Open paid time off and flexible work schedules.
• Medical, dental, and life insurance.
• Parental leave for employees, spouses or domestic partners, and children.
• 401(k) with company match.
• Collaborative culture focused on teamwork, player empathy, diversity, and inclusion.