Manager, Software Engineering

Riot Games; Sydney; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Riot Games in Sydney is seeking an Engineering Manager to lead a small team focused on automation and build systems for our Unpublished R&D Product. You will mentor engineers, shape technical direction, and ensure scalable pipelines across a distributed team while delivering high-quality MMO workflows.

The ideal candidate has 6+ years in software development, 2+ years of leadership, deep C/C++, and strong Unreal Engine experience with automation tooling.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of development experience as a software engineer, including shipping one or more games or products on large code bases spanning multiple platforms.
• 2+ years experience directly leading engineering teams as a people manager.
• Proficient in C and C++, with strong debugging skills and solid game/software design patterns.
• Experience developing real-time online multiplayer games using Unreal Engine, with expertise in automation tooling and build pipelines.
• Strong collaboration across time zones with product and discipline leads.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a team of 2–6 engineers through all phases of product development.
• Set technical direction across time zones in partnership with leads.
• Design and implement large-scale automation and build tooling.
• Lead architecture, design and hands-on implementation across relevant systems.
• Grow team capabilities through coaching and hiring.
• Foster player-first engineering culture with collaboration and best practices.
• Identify, interview, and hire software engineers to scale the team.
• Coordinate with Core Tech Engineering Manager to plan content stability and testing.
• Troubleshoot live service issues as part of on-call rotation.

Skills

Leadership

C/C++

Unreal Engine

Online multiplayer

Cross-team collaboration

Debugging

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Telemetry tooling

Build pipelines

Job description

At Riot, we believe in putting players first. Our Sydney-based team contributes to the unpublished R&D Product, collaborating globally to build next-generation features and technology. Whether focused on automation, performance, tools, or build systems, we create the foundations for great developer and player experiences.

Riot engineers bring deep knowledge of specific technical areas but also value the chance to work in many broader domains. As an Engineering Manager, you’ll predominantly offer creative solutions to organizational design. You’ll also serve as a mentor for a team of engineers, overseeing performance management, growth opportunities, and accountability.

As an Engineering Manager and tech lead of Automation & Build Systems on our Unpublished R&D Product, you will drive initiatives and provide other engineers with a clear illustration of extraordinary engineering, while also overseeing their performance and trying to find stretch opportunities for their growth.

You will work with all team disciplines to design, implement, and iterate on modern game development workflows, pipelines, and automation. You will work in a small team alongside a product lead, technical artists, and other engineers to ensure we can efficiently deliver on our player’s dreams. We’re looking for an engineer experienced in automation and build systems whose work will ensure our MMO consistently delivers a high-quality, dependable experience that players can trust over the long term. The ideal candidate is passionate, driven, and wants to guide the technical vision of how we extend engines and optimize workflows. You will report to an Engineering Manager within R&D.

At Riot, we believe in putting players first. Our Sydney-based team contributes to the unpublished R&D Product, collaborating globally to build next-generation features and technology. Whether focused on automation, performance, tools, or build systems, we create the foundations for great developer and player experiences.

Riot engineers bring deep knowledge of specific technical areas but also value the chance to work in many broader domains. As an Engineering Manager, you’ll predominantly offer creative solutions to organizational design. You’ll also serve as a mentor for a team of engineers, overseeing performance management, growth opportunities, and accountability.

As an Engineering Manager and tech lead of Automation & Build Systems on our Unpublished R&D Product, you will drive initiatives and provide other engineers with a clear illustration of extraordinary engineering, while also overseeing their performance and trying to find stretch opportunities for their growth.

You will work with all team disciplines to design, implement, and iterate on modern game development workflows, pipelines, and automation. You will work in a small team alongside a product lead, technical artists, and other engineers to ensure we can efficiently deliver on our player’s dreams. We’re looking for an engineer experienced in automation and build systems whose work will ensure our MMO consistently delivers a high-quality, dependable experience that players can trust over the long term. The ideal candidate is passionate, driven, and wants to guide the technical vision of how we extend engines and optimize workflows. You will report to an Engineering Manager within R&D.

Responsibilities:

• Lead and mentor a team of 2–6 engineers through all phases of product development.

• Work across time zones to set the technical direction, in partnership with product and discipline leads, driving clarity and alignment on priorities.

• Design and implement solutions for large scale automation and build tooling across a distributed network of servers.

• Lead architecture requirements, technical design, and hands‑on implementation across relevant systems, shaping the team’s technical direction and standards.

• Grow the capabilities of the team through coaching, career development, and hiring.

• Foster an engineering culture grounded in player‑first, collaboration, inclusion, autonomy and best practices.

• Identify, interview, and hire software engineers to scale the team and ensure consistency in excellence between global teams.

• Work with the Core Tech Engineering Manager in Los Angeles to plan, roadmap and deliver on the needs for content creation, stability, and testing.

• Troubleshoot live service issues as part of an on‑call rotation.

Required Qualifications:

• 6+ years of development experience as a software engineer, including shipping one or more games or products on large code bases that span a range of platforms and tools.

• 2+ years experience directly leading engineering teams as a people manager.

• Proficient in C and C++, with strong debugging skills and a solid foundation in common game and software design patterns.

• Experience developing real‑time online multiplayer games using Unreal Engine (or similar engine), with expertise in automation tooling, performance tooling, build pipelines, and/or telemetry.

• Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively across multiple disciplines across time‑zones, coupled with strong product sense, pragmatic decision‑making, and player empathy in technical choices.

Desired Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or equivalent experience.

• Experience developing MMO and/or large scale online games with a focus on game server architecture and automation.

• Experience working with global teams, and working with leadership across time zones.

• Skilled in managing requirements and refining game development pipelines for efficiency and scalability.

• Familiarity with Unreal Engine, including Blueprint visual scripting, and working knowledge of Iris.

• Experience working with mid‑sized engineering teams and other disciplines (e.g. Tech Design, UX Design, Production) in an agile environment

• Prior experience working on global-scale game development or online services.

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!