Staff Software Engineer, Social & Store - Unpublished R&D Product

As a Staff Software Engineer on an unpublished R&D project, you will architect the foundational social and store systems for one of Riot’s Unpublished R&D products. You will work closely with leadership, Product, and UX Design to set the long-term technical vision for engaging social and purchasing systems. In this role, you will lead the vertical integration of these systems, ensuring they meet and exceed player expectations while adhering to our social safety standards. You will drive cross-team collaboration, ensuring our systems are robust, scalable, and compliant, while providing technical mentorship to the team.

Riot engineers bring deep knowledge of specific technical areas but also value the opportunity to work in a variety of broader domains. As a Staff Software Engineer, you’ll drive important features, set technical standards, and provide other engineers with a clear illustration of extraordinary engineering. You will report to a Senior Engineering Manager supporting the Tech Foundations team within an unpublished R&D product.

This is a full-time role, based in Sydney, Australia. Internal Job Title: Software Engineer III.

• Define the technical vision of a 2-4 person engineering team and long-term strategy for Social & Store integration.

• Architect and help implement foundational elements of the game's social and store systems.

• Champion the technical vision, architecture, and execution across the project with production and management.

• Collaborate with Product and UX Design to translate high-level product goals into technical designs.

• Collaborate with central teams, Riot partners, and vendors to achieve the best outcomes for the Product

• Lead cross-disciplinary technical discussions to ensure UI and systems meet functional and aesthetic requirements.

• Establish the team’s technical direction and best practices for architecture and implementation.

• Provide mentorship to engineers across multiple levels as the team scales, and provide feedback that supports their technical growth.

• Ensure compliance with Riot safety and regulatory requirements for global social & store systems.

• 8+ years of professional experience in software engineering, including experience delivering live or shipped products at scale.

• 3+ years of experience in related game systems (e.g., social systems, e-commerce, or platform services).

• Proficiency in C++ and Unreal Engine.

• B.S. in computer science or equivalent experience.

• Proven ability to navigate ambiguity and influence cross-functional stakeholders.

• Strong communication skills across technical and non-technical audiences.

• Experience with in-game purchasing flows, entitlement systems, and third-party platform integrations.

• Experience developing tools that integrate with client and backend systems.

• Deep knowledge of social system architecture and player engagement patterns.

• Experience mentoring technical leaders and contributing to engineering culture.

• Experience working on distributed teams.

• Experience with AI assisted engineering workflows

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!

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