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# Principal Software Engineer, Game - Unpublished R&D Product

- **Company:** Riot Games
- **Location:** Los Angeles, CA, United States
- **Experience:** Expert
- **Salary:** $229,200.0 - $319,500.0
- **Contract:** Permanent contract
- **Skills:** C++ (Programming Language), Software Tools, Build Tools
- **Published:** August 29, 2026
- **Apply:** https://www.riotgames.com/en/j/8130592

## About the Role

* 8-12 yrs of collective professional experience in game development
 * Experience shipping games across multiple platforms (PC, console, mobile)
 * Experience building gameplay systems and collaborating with designers
 * Expert with C++ in complex code bases
 * Experience mentoring fellow developers
 * Experience leading technical designs and technical decisions
 * Experience with building game content tools and pipelines

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!

## Description

Riot engineers bring deep knowledge of specific technical areas but also value the opportunity to work in many broader domains. As a software engineer, you'll also dive into projects that focus on team cohesiveness and cross-team goals. You'll lead with a clear illustration of extraordinary engineering.

As a Principal Software Engineer and technical lead you'll take technical ownership of multiple key areas. You will drive the technical vision and execution of gameplay features. You will collaborate with cross-disciplinary teams to build systems that bring our players' dreams to life. If you have a passion for gameplay engineering and thrive in a dynamic, player-focused environment, this is the role for you., * Collaborate with external teams in other business units working in the same technical spaces (including Game Designers, Artists, Animators, Quality, Engineers, and Producers) to shape player experiences

 * Give feedback to designers and artists on the technical tradeoffs for improvements of their tooling
 * Give feedback to product leaders about product direction and benefits for creative teams
 * Brainstorm, design, and implement prototypes to find answers to product, development, and technical questions
 * Lead and deliver game content tooling to support external teams (including Game Designers, Artists, Animators, and Producers)
 * Collaborate with and mentor engineering teammates
 * Deliver exciting and meaningful improvements to gameplay tools focused on opening game design space in environments, physics, audio, and navigation
 * Build projects implementing complex system changes


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