Technical Game Designer III - Social & Player Dynamics - VALORANT

As a Technical Game Designer, you will design, tweak, and optimize the player experience. Your analytical skills, player insight, and creativity aid in crafting in- and out-of-game experiences that engage and surprise players. You will collaborate with interdisciplinary teams and work with every tool at hand to innovate and iterate player-focused designs that'll delight millions around the world.

VALORANT is Riot’s take on a character-based tactical shooter (for more info on VALORANT click here!). As a Technical Game Designer III working on the Social & Player Dynamics team you will design systems that promote positive inter-player experiences. You will be responsible for understanding the types of behaviors and interactions that lead to positive gameplay experiences - on the flip side, you will be responsible for crafting and implementing systems that ensure the safety and health of our community, identify bad behavior, and dole out appropriate interventions to help players on their path to reform. Additionally, you will design new and innovative social systems that foster community creation, growth, and longevity, helping players feel connected to one another. You will report to the Lead Metasystems Designer.

This is both a game design role and an engineering role, requiring competency in both.

Responsibilities:

• Design and implement Social Systems that promote positive social behavior.
• Develop behavioral detection systems that monitor bad behavior and appropriately leverage interventions on repeat offenders.
• Create and provide multiple potential designs and solutions. Articulate trade-offs and risks between different options with a clear understanding of content and product level goals.
• Work with other disciplines to take content and features from conception to our players’ hands.
• Seek opportunities for new design spaces in collaboration with Product Managers and Design Leadership. 
• Playtest VALORANT and help push for continued improvements for existing designs and fresh prototypes.
• Help identity and put in place tools, processes and best practices that set the design team and their collaborators up for success.
• Collaborate with the Social & Player Dynamics Team and Technical Leads to define and achieve roadmaps for systemic technical features and improvements.

Required Qualifications:

• 5+ years of experience in professional Game Development, including experience in both Design and Engineering.
• Shipped or worked on at least one AAA+ online multiplayer game; deep familiarity with games as a service.
• Can create and improve complex systems with attention to both player impact and systemic consequences.
• Ability to predict outcomes of game design decisions on both individual player behavior and player-player interactions.
• Proven ability to articulate decision-making frameworks with other designers and team members.
• A deep understanding of how to prioritize and drive tech work based on usability by peers, design and product goals, and overall player value created.

Desired Qualifications:

• Deep level of understanding, passion, and engagement with online competitive games.
• Experience social systems in large scale multiplayer games, especially ones with long standing, healthy communities.
• Familiarity with online shooters, especially VALORANT and/or tactical shooters.
• Views potential 'charged' player feedback as an opportunity to better understand and improve the product. 
• Experience developing on multiple platforms: PC, Mobile, and Console.
• 3+ years experience developing in C++ with the ability to deliver technical features and tools throughout a complex codebase.

Riot has a focus on work/life balance, shown by our open paid time off policy, in addition to 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 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

It's our policy to provide equal employment opportunities 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, including the City of Los Angeles' Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance relating to an applicant's criminal history (LAMC 189.00).