Director, Data Engineering - League Studios

Location: Los Angeles, USA

Department: League Studio

As a Director, Data Engineering - League Studios, Tech Foundations, you will lead the data infrastructure organization that powers League of Legends, Teamfight Tactics, and other games across League Studio. The organization encompasses telemetry generation and collection, data pipelines, governed data models, and data SDLC tooling, forming the end-to-end data workflow that supports game teams, analytics, and data science across the studio.

In this role, you will set the technical direction for League Studio’s data architecture and pipelines, working in close partnership with Riot’s central data functions, with clear accountability for the outcomes and health of the data engineering organization. You will partner closely with leaders across engineering, product, production, and data disciplines to enable data-driven development for the studio’s current and next generation of games and player experiences.

You will report to the Engineering Director of Tech Foundations.

Responsibilities:

• Lead and manage a team of highly skilled engineering managers and engineers, driving strong performance management, career growth, and consistent delivery of results.
• Define, communicate, and socialize a clear engineering vision, partnering with peer leaders to build long-term organizational and staffing plans aligned with technical and product goals.
• Contribute across the full employee lifecycle, including budgeting, recruiting, hiring, onboarding, coaching, and mentoring engineers, as well as managing contingent staff where applicable.
• Partner with technical leads to provide architectural and technical direction across the product lifecycle, while continuously improving engineering quality, reliability, and efficiency.
• Collaborate closely with cross-functional partners, including product management and technical production and product insights to deliver high-quality, scalable, and resilient data solutions.
• Foster effective communication and collaboration within the data engineering organization and across the broader studio.
• Stay current with industry trends and emerging technologies, guiding thoughtful adoption of best practices to maintain technical excellence and long-term sustainability.

Required Qualifications: 

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• 10+ years of experience in data engineering or closely related domains.
• 4+ years leading data engineering teams, including at least 2+ years managing managers.
• Strong expertise in Python, Java, or similar languages, and deep grounding in CS fundamentals.
• Demonstrated strength in system design, data structures, and algorithms.
• In-depth knowledge of data engineering best practices, techniques, and methodologies to drive quality and reliability at scale.
• Proven experience collaborating across multiple teams, departments, and disciplines.
• Experience with project management, prioritization frameworks, and guiding investment decisions across people and systems.

Desired Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• Experience with large-scale data platforms in gaming or adjacent consumer products.
• Familiarity with large-scale experimentation platforms and cross-surface measurement.
• Experience with modern data platforms, including transformation frameworks and governance or metadata tooling (e.g., dbt, Atlan, or similar).
• Experience leading platform-focused engineering organizations.
• Experience leading and scaling distributed or remote 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.