Senior Software Engineer (Gameplay/Audio) - Unpublished R&D Product Software Engineering Group [...]

Riot Games; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 161,000 - 227,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading gaming company seeks a Senior Software Engineer focused on gameplay audio for an unpublished title. You will blend technical expertise with creative instincts, collaborating with an interdisciplinary team to integrate audio systems and craft immersive player experiences. Your role involves mentoring others and implementing high-quality sound in a new game while ensuring a strong emphasis on collaboration and player empathy.

Benefits

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Life insurance

Parental leave

401k with company match

Flexible work schedules

Open paid time off policy

Qualifications

• 4+ years of gameplay development experience in a C-style game engine.
• 2+ years of experience working in audio middleware.
• Experience collaborating with teammates across multiple disciplines.

Responsibilities

• Identify, prioritize, and implement game audio systems and features.
• Optimize memory budgets and audio compression types for multiple platforms.
• Define and apply best practices of technical audio workflows.

Skills

Gameplay development

Audio middleware

Fluency in C++

Collaboration

Education

BS in Computer Science

Tools

Wwise

FMOD

Pro-Tools

Reaper

Job description

Senior Software Engineer (Gameplay/Audio) - Unpublished R&D Product

Job Id: REQ-0008967

Riot engineers bring deep knowledge of specific technical areas but also value the opportunity to work in a variety of broader domains. As a Software Engineer, you’ll also dive into projects that focus on team cohesiveness and cross-team objectives. You’ll lead without authority and provide other engineers with a clear illustration of extraordinary engineering.

As a Senior Software Engineer specializing in gameplay audio on an unreleased title, you’ll blend technical expertise with creative audio instincts to craft immersive player experiences. Partnering closely with a multidisciplinary team, you’ll strengthen the integration between audio systems and the game engine while helping design and implement new features. Your passion, creativity, and critical thinking will be essential in both guiding team decisions and providing valuable peer feedback. While you’ll spend the majority of your time focused on audio systems, you’ll be expected to leverage your networked multiplayer experience in supporting general gameplay systems. Collaboration is core to our culture—you’ll work alongside the Audio Director, Sound Designers, Engineers, Designers, Producers, and other cross-discipline partners to bring a brand new game to life.

Responsibilities:

• Identify, prioritize, and implement game audio systems, features, and in-game audio assets. You will be partnering with the Audio Lead and Sound Designers to implement sound effects, voice-over, and music for a new title
• Work in audio middleware, including project organization, structures, and gameplay parameter setups. Optimize memory budgets, streaming look-ahead times, audio compression types and other technical aspects for multiple platforms
• Collaborate with product and discipline leads to identify focus areas, handoff points, and provide the best solution for the development phase
• Define and apply best practices of technical audio workflows, tooling, pipelines, testing, and systems to support project and team needs
• Act as a liaison to advocate for audio to the engineering team, and partner with team members across disciplines to find solutions that best support quality audio
• Mentor and level up other engineers on the team, especially in audio focused areas

Required Qualifications:

• 4+ years of gameplay development experience in a C-style game engine (Unreal Engine, Unity, etc)
• 2+ years of experience working in audio middleware or frameworks (Wwise, FMOD, etc)
• Fluency in C++
• BS in Computer Science, or proven understanding of Computer Science fundamentals
• Experience collaborating with teammates across multiple disciplines

Desired Qualifications:

• Proficient with modern day audio software tools (Pro-Tools, Reaper, Plugins)
• Experience working on a networked game
• Experience with UE4 and/or UE5
• Experience developing and shipping a AAA title
• Experience with Agile development

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!

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, weput 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 SanFrancisco 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.

• (Los Angeles Only) Base salary range between $161,500.00 - $227,000.00 USD + incentive compensation + equity + 401K with company match + medical, dental, vision, and life insurance + short and long-term disability + open PTO.