Shipping a new game at Riot is a monumental effort that takes more than just a great game. It requires turning a creative vision into a robust, scalable, and reliable live service that can delight millions of players worldwide. New game teams are hyper-focused on finding the fun, but to launch successfully, they need to be connected to Riot's ecosystem of central technology and prepared for the rigors of day-to-day live operations. That's where you come in.

As a Principal Technical Producer on an R&D team, you will be the single point of accountability for a new game's technical readiness to launch. You are the critical bridge between the game team and Riot's central platform and technology teams. You will partner closely with your Publishing Ecosystem Product Manager counterpart to deliver high quality work that align with critical player and business outcomes. Drawing on a deep understanding of both game development and live service operations, you will work with fellow technologists to define the integration roadmap, drive technical requirements, and instill a "Live Ops Mentality" long before the game is in players' hands. You will ensure our game launches on a foundation that is ready for massive scale, rapid releases, and the chaos of a live environment. This role is for a battle-tested leader who knows what it takes to not just ship, but to ship successfully.

Responsibilities:

• Own the Integration Master Plan: Act as the product and production leader for all integrations between the game and Riot's central technology platforms.
• Drive Technical Product Definition: Partner with game leadership and central tech teams to define technical requirements for new platform features. You will partner with central technology product leaders to translate game needs into actionable backlogs for central teams and assess central offerings for their fit against the game's needs, driving alignment and reprioritization when necessary.
• Champion Live Operations Readiness: Develop and execute a comprehensive plan to prepare the R&D team for the transition to a live service. This includes establishing incident management processes, defining release pipelines, building deployment infrastructure, and running drills (load testing, chaos testing) to build the team's operational muscle.
• Lead Cross-Functional Execution: Shepherd complex, multi-team integration projects from initial concept through launch and beyond. You will be deep in the details, wrangling backlogs, managing dependencies, identifying risks, and ensuring all teams (game, platform, publishing) are aligned on the goal.
• Collaborate on Shared Ecosystems: Partner closely with the Ecosystem Product Manager on shared responsibilities such as console certification, localization, regional launch capabilities, and beta programs, ensuring a cohesive player experience.
• Mentor and Level Up the Team: Act as a subject matter expert on live operations and technical production, preparing the game team to the point where they are ready to hire and effectively manage dedicated Live Ops Producers and Release Managers post-launch.

Required Qualifications:

• 8+ years of experience in senior technical production, technical product management, or engineering leadership roles within the games industry.
• You have shipped AAA games in a production or product leadership capacity on PC or console.
• Experience with the full lifecycle of live service games, from pre-production through launch and live operations.
• Proven ability to lead large-scale, cross-functional technical projects, especially those involving the integration of new products with existing central technology platforms.
• Expert-level understanding of at least three of the following domains: game patching and delivery, live operations, developer platforms, or game server infrastructure.
• Experience working directly with engineering teams to define technical requirements, manage backlogs, and drive a product from concept to completion.

Desired Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent experience with strong technical knowledge, problem-solving skills, and understanding of basic programming concepts.
• Experience shipping games on console platforms (Sony PlayStation, Microsoft Xbox) and navigating their technical certification requirements.
• Experience with the technical and operational requirements for launching a game in China and Korea.
• Experience building a "live ops" culture and capability within a team that was previously R&D-focused.
• A deep network and established relationships with central technology, platform, or publishing teams at a major game studio.
• Experience driving work in matrixed teams and complex organizational structures.

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 the experiences of players, this could be the role for you!

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.