Riot Data Scientists combine their wide technical expertise across data processing, automation, machine learning ("ML"), artificial intelligence ("AI"), and experimental design to inform decisions and develop data-powered products. As a Senior Data Scientist, you’ll dive into projects that focus on cross-team goals. You’ll provide other data scientists with a north star of “what extraordinary data science should look like". You are the lead for complex or significant technical work, where the problem requires evaluation of intangibles. You can customize methods to suit an unusual data problem and juggle technical requirements. You work at a multi-team scale, guiding product vision, technical designs, and other scientists' development across an organization. You lead by example, but you also lead by leading - you achieve results while elevating others' data science craft.

As a Senior Data Scientist working with the Anti-Cheat data team, you will shape the way data is used to protect players.  By partnering with our game teams, you will apply your expertise in data science and exploration to stay steps ahead of bad actors looking to disrupt our players. Our work includes developing data powered products backed by novel machine learning and artificial intelligence capabilities, running large-scale distributed systems, and building traditional data pipelines. The team is embedded in the larger anti-cheat organization. You will report directly to the Data Science Manager for the anti-cheat data team.

Responsibilities

• You will use machine learning to build products or inform decisions that directly improve the player experience.
• You’ll operate with a strong results orientation, increasing the team’s impact by cultivating productivity and by prioritizing high-value work with the team.
• You will work with partners across the organization, gathering requirements, designing project plans, determining approaches, and defining success criteria.
• You will improve our data science practice by identifying novel techniques and technical approaches.
• Provide technical expertise throughout the product life cycle including design, implementation, and delivery of features while continuously improving the technical quality and efficiency.
• You will mentor and advise other data professionals in using best practices.

Required Qualifications:

• Ph.D. in Machine Learning, AI, Statistics, Math, or related Computer Science/Quantitative field, or equivalent experience(i.e., M.Sc. with over two years of relevant experience, or B.Sc. with over four years of relevant experience, etc.).
• 2+ years experience with big data technologies such as Spark.
• Strong understanding and experience applying ML and AI to improve business understanding and product development.
• Hands on experience with building and maintaining mission critical models.
• Experience developing data systems and ML services from scratch, including gathering requirements and designing scalable, production-ready architecture.
• Proficiency in Python, SQL, and common data science frameworks (scikit, MLlib, etc).
• Effective at storytelling with data to a diverse and non-technical audience.

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience working on a global scale online game or consumer product.
• Experience with relational databases (MySQL, Postgres), document stores (ElasticSearch), and distributed storage systems (HDFS, S3, Google Cloud Storage).
• Experience with data pipelining tools (Airflow, Luigi).
• Experience using containers (Docker, Kubernetes) and infrastructure as code (Terraform, Ansible).
• Familiarity with queuing and pub/sub systems (Kafka, PubSub).
• Familiarity with high performance competitive multiplayer games.

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!

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.

Riot Games fosters a player and workplace experience that values teamwork embodied by the Summoner's Code and Community Code. Our culture embraces differences as a strength, and our values are the guiding principles for how we approach work. We are committed to putting diversity and inclusion (D&I) at the center of everything we do and promoting a fair and collaborative culture where Rioters treat one another with dignity and respect. We encourage you to read more about our value of thriving together and our ongoing work to build the most inclusive company in Gaming.