Staff Software Engineer - Unpublished R&D Product

Riot Games; Sydney; On-site; AUD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Open paid time off policy

Paid parental leave

Co-op gaming areas

Play fund

Medical Insurance

Employee Assistance Program

Wellness fund

Donation matching of time and money

Learning and Development opportunities

Job summary

Riot Sydney is seeking a Staff Software Engineer to own critical R&D product areas, design scalable systems, mentor peers, and collaborate across teams to deliver high-quality player and developer experiences in live environments. You bring 6+ years in software engineering, deep C++ expertise, Unreal Engine experience, and a track record delivering shipped titles or live services.

You will work on scalable services, build and release pipelines, and contribute to central tech while thriving in a

Qualifications

• 6+ years of professional experience in software engineering, including experience delivering live or shipped products.
• Expert proficiency with C++ and deep knowledge of software engineering fundamentals (data structures, algorithms, concurrency).
• Experience building systems in a cross-functional team and contributing to cross-team architecture discussions, including contributing to central tech.
• Strong debugging and problem-solving skills in both development and live environments.
• Ability to write clear, maintainable code and communicate technical concepts effectively across disciplines.
• Experience building games.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or equivalent experience.
• Experience working with Unreal Engine.
• Familiarity with systems such as scalable services, build & release pipelines, or telemetry.
• Experience with version control systems like Perforce or Git.
• Open paid time off policy
• Paid parental leave (for both primary and secondary carers)
• Co-op gaming areas
• Play fund to broaden and deepen knowledge of players and community
• Medical Insurance that covers you and your dependents
• Employee Assistance Program
• Wellness fund
• Donation matching of time and money to registered charities
• Learning and Development opportunities

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and development of scalable, performant foundational systems around build, release, delivery & the related tooling.
• Drive technical discussions and decision-making across services, engine, and/or tooling components.
• Collaborate with producers, QA, and fellow engineers to scope, implement, and test game features.
• Champion engineering best practices, including code quality, automated testing, and maintainable architecture.
• Debug complex issues in development and live environments, with a player-first mindset.
• Contribute to team health through mentorship, documentation, and cross-disciplinary collaboration.
• Proactively identify technical risks and bottlenecks, proposing pragmatic and innovative solutions.
• Give feedback to product leaders about product direction and player affinity.

Skills

C++

Unreal Engine

Live product shipping

Cross-functional teamwork

Debugging

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or equivalent

Tools

Perforce

Git

Job description

Staff Software Engineer - Unpublished R&D Product

As a Staff Software Engineer , you'll take technical ownership of key areas within our workstreams. You'll contribute across the development lifecycle — designing scalable solutions, mentoring teammates, and collaborating cross-functionally to ensure that player and developer experiences meet a high quality bar. As Software Engineers at Riot, we bring deep knowledge of specific technical areas and also value the opportunity to work in a variety of broader domains. We work with both new and current technology, creating innovative solutions to overcome high-volume obstacles and to deliver player value. You will report to an Engineering Manager supporting the R&D Game Team. Internal Job Title: Software Engineer III.

Key responsibilities

Lead the design and development of scalable, performant foundational systems around build, release, delivery & the related tooling.

Drive technical discussions and decision-making across services, engine, and/or tooling components.

Collaborate with producers, QA, and fellow engineers to scope, implement, and test game features.

Champion engineering best practices, including code quality, automated testing, and maintainable architecture.

Debug complex issues in development and live environments, with a player-first mindset.

Contribute to team health through mentorship, documentation, and cross-disciplinary collaboration.

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

Give feedback to product leaders about product direction and player affinity.

About you

6+ years of professional experience in software engineering, including experience delivering live or shipped products.

Expert proficiency with C++ and deep knowledge of software engineering fundamentals (data structures, algorithms, concurrency).

Experience building systems in a cross-functional team and contributing to cross-team architecture discussions, including contributing to central tech.

Strong debugging and problem-solving skills in both development and live environments.

Ability to write clear, maintainable code and communicate technical concepts effectively across disciplines.

Experience building games.

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or equivalent experience.

Experience working with Unreal Engine.

Familiarity with systems such as scalable services, build & release pipelines, or telemetry.

Experience with version control systems like Perforce or Git.

Open paid time off policy

Paid parental leave (for both primary and secondary carers)

Co-op gaming areas

Play fund to broaden and deepen knowledge of players and community

Medical Insurance that covers you and your dependents

Employee Assistance Program

Wellness fund

Donation matching of time and money to registered charities

Learning and Development opportunities

About us

Working closely with Riot teams globally, Riot Sydney is a powerhouse of talent, and experts in global development. Our team works on VALORANT, League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics, alongside exciting R&D and Tech projects. 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.