Principal Machine Learning Engineer - Unpublished R&D Product

As a Principal Machine Learning Engineer on an unpublished R&D product, you will be responsible for the strategy, design and implementation of AI/ML driven capabilities for one of Riot’s most exciting new games. You will work closely with other developers to understand their needs, and will be hands-on in conceptualizing, planning, implementing, and maintaining AI-powered solutions to increase developer efficiency. We’re looking for someone who is passionate about empowering their team to deliver great player experiences, thrives in cross-disciplinary teams, is aware of the latest trends, and finds practical applications of AI/ML technologies. You will report to the Senior Engineering Manager of the Tech Foundations team within the R&D game project.

Responsibilities:

• Define the strategic direction of the AI/ML space on the team in conjunction with central tech and other game teams

• Work closely with developers to discover and conceptualize opportunities for AI-powered workflow enhancements

• Lead the application of AI/ML systems to solve developer problems

• Collaborate with developers to scope, architect, implement, and test AI/ML-based solutions

• Keep up with technical developments in the industry relating to AI/ML and find practical applications that help solve the team challenges

• Partner with central teams to create reusable training and evaluation pipelines that can be applied across Riot while adapting to the unique constraints of the game

• Advance and strengthen engineering best practices, including code quality, automated testing, and maintainable architecture

• Elevate the team’s expertise in advanced AI/ML methods through mentorship and documentation, and contribute to team health through cross-disciplinary collaboration

• Proactively identify technical risks and bottlenecks, proposing pragmatic and innovative solutions

Required Qualifications:

• 10+ years (or equivalent depth) of professional experience in software engineering, including deep experience with requirements gathering and delivering production-ready solutions

• Experience delivering AI/ML systems in production, ideally within real-time or interactive environments

• Strong background in one or more of the following: reinforcement learning, imitation learning, decision-making under uncertainty, LLM, AI planning, or other systems

• Experience working in a AAA game engine (i.e. Unity, Unreal, etc.)

• Proven ability to navigate ambiguity and solve complex problems with minimal support

• Experience regularly collaborating with teammates across multiple disciplines

• Strong communication skills across technical and non-technical audiences

• B.S. in computer science or equivalent experience

• Proficiency in C++

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience implementing tools for developers

• Proficiency working with modern ML/data science libraries and frameworks such as PyTorch/TensorFlow, pandas, etc.

• Experience implementing framework level UI systems

• Experience in infrastructure and MLOps (such as AI/ML cloud services, containers and model telemetry)

• Experience mentoring technical ICs and contributing to engineering culture

• Experience working on distributed teams

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!

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.