Manager, Software Engineering (Tools & Frameworks) - Developer Connections

Location: Los Angeles, USA; Mercer Island, USA; Redwood City, USA

Department: Riot Technology

Riot engineers bring deep knowledge of specific technical areas but also value the opportunity to work in a variety of broader domains. As an Engineering Manager, you’ll guide an engineering team through all the phases of the software development and operations lifecycle. You’ll also serve as a people manager, mentor, and coach for the engineers, overseeing performance management, growth opportunities, and accountability.

Developer Connections (DevCon) connects developers around the globe allowing them to create and ship games reliably and efficiently. We sit at the intersection of Game Studios, R&D, and Central Tech, allowing us to keep our fingers on the pulse of development across Riot. Our aim is to unblock teams so they can hit essential milestones for launching features and future games. As the Manager of Software Engineering for DevCon: Tools & Frameworks, your mission is to accelerate the developer experience by providing the core building blocks for our global ecosystem. You will lead the evolution of Go and Java frameworks that allow teams to spin up services with minimal boilerplate, ensuring easy integration with the rest of Riot's tech stack. Additionally, you will manage our Slackbot Platform—enabling teams to deploy AI-powered customer support flows—and an ecosystem of tools focused on reducing operational overhead and automating the "inner loop" of the game development process. Your work ensures that Riot engineers can focus on building games, not the plumbing. You’ll work with a multitude of teams across the globe including game teams, security, and other central engineering teams. You will need to understand and balance the needs of these various teams to provide one cohesive experience that ultimately accelerates the Riot game development experience.

Responsibilities:

• Lead and Mentor: You will manage a team of engineers, guiding their career growth, performing code reviews, and fostering a culture of technical excellence and psychological safety.
• Own the Roadmap: You will define the vision for Riot’s internal frameworks and automation tools, ensuring they meet customers needs and remain compliant.
• Drive Operational Excellence: You will ensure that your teams’ offerings are highly available and supported, maintaining high standards for documentation and developer self-service.
• Technical Stewardship: You will stay hands-on enough to contribute to architectural discussions, ensuring our frameworks integrate seamlessly with other core Riot technologies.

Required Qualifications: 

• 7+ years of software engineering experience, with a focus on backend services, frameworks, or developer tooling.
• 1+ years of experience as a people manager, leading engineering teams in an agile environment.
• Professional proficiency in Go or Java.
• Experience building and maintaining shared libraries or platforms used by large engineering organizations.
• A "product mindset" regarding internal tools—valuing developer ergonomics and documentation as much as performance.

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience with AI/LLM integrations or building conversational interfaces (Slack/Discord platforms)
• Familiarity with containerization and microservices orchestration (Kubernetes)
• Experience with CI/CD automation and static analysis tools

For this role, you'll find success through craft expertise, a collaborative spirit, and decision-making that prioritizes your fellow Rioters, who are the customers of your work. Being a dedicated fan of games is not necessary for this position!

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.