Engineering Manager, Backend & Live Game Services

Riot Games; California (MO); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Open paid time off

Medical, dental, and life insurance

401k with company match

Job summary

Riot Games is seeking an Engineering Manager in the Riot Discovery Studio to lead a team of internal and external engineers, guiding backend architecture from prototype to live operation. You will own the technical health of backend services, shape architecture, and scale systems for live Riot titles while mentoring engineers and driving growth through stretch opportunities.

You will influence engineering strategy, collaborate across teams, and ensure reliable, scalable backend infrastructure

Qualifications

• 6+ years of experience as a software engineer.
• 4+ years of game development experience on multiple platforms (mobile, console, PC).
• 2+ years in a leadership role, serving as an Engineering Manager.
• Experience leading teams through feature development (planning, execution, delivery, post-release support).
• Experience building reliable, scalable backend distributed systems.
• Experience with the full software development lifecycle, shipping products on large code bases across platforms and tools.
• Experience collaborating with non-engineering departments to create solutions.
• Experience with modern backend technologies such as Go, Java, or C#.

Responsibilities

• Support defining the engineering strategy and technical roadmap for global backend infrastructure.
• Manage and scale an engineering team through pre-production, production, and post-launch.
• Partner with product and delivery to define features and roadmaps.
• Collaborate with Riot Central technology teams to deliver solutions.
• Direct development and performance of external engineers in other geographies.
• Contribute to technical/architectural discussions and drive decisions.
• Lead planning and execution of engineering work: requirements, design, estimation.
• Own the technical health and cost efficiency of services in live environments.
• Identify, interview, and hire software engineers to grow the team.
• Support engineers with performance management and career development.

Skills

Software engineering

Game development

Leadership

Backend systems

Cross-functional collaboration

SDLC experience

Tools

Go

Java

C#

Job description

Riot Games is seeking an Engineering Manager in the Riot Discovery Studio to lead a team of internal and external engineers, guiding backend architecture from prototype to live operation. You will own the technical health of backend services, shape architecture, and scale systems for live Riot titles while mentoring engineers and driving growth through stretch opportunities.

You will influence engineering strategy, collaborate across teams, and ensure reliable, scalable backend infrastructure