Manager, Software Engineering

Riot engineers bring deep knowledge of specific technical areas but also value the opportunity to work in a variety of broader domains. As Engineering Managers, we gain organisational alignment by building a strong engineering vision and offering creative solutions to organizational design. We also serve as mentors for a team of engineers, overseeing their performance and trying to find stretch opportunities for their growth.

As a Manager, Software Engineering at Riot Games Sydney, you will lead a small team of staff software engineers contributing to Unreal Engine-based core technology. You will partner with engineering and product leaders to identify high-impact technical challenges, set priorities, and guide the delivery of reliable, reusable solutions that support game development across Riot.

This role combines people leadership, technical judgement, and delivery leadership. You will help experienced engineers deepen their architectural expertise, grow as technical leaders, and extend their influence beyond their immediate team. As Riot’s needs evolve, you will help shape the team’s contribution to new challenges, building on a foundation of strong delivery, trusted partnerships, and shared technical knowledge.

Responsibilities:

• Recruit engineers with strong technical judgement, collaborative leadership, and the ability to deliver in complex environments.

• Lead, coach, and develop a small team of staff software engineers, helping them strengthen their technical judgement, cross-team influence, and leadership while supporting their onboarding, performance, and career growth.

• Partner with engineering and product leaders to set clear priorities and connect the team’s work to meaningful developer and player outcomes.

• Build strong partnerships across relevant Riot teams to identify shared technical challenges, opportunities for reusable solutions, and ways to extend the team’s impact.

• Guide technical direction and delivery for Unreal Engine-based core technology work, balancing immediate needs with maintainability, reliability, and long-term value.

• Set a high bar for architectural judgement, technical collaboration, and delivery in complex or ambiguous problem spaces.

• Maintain clear technical ownership and effective knowledge sharing as projects and team responsibilities evolve.

• Stay hands-on through technical contributions outside the critical delivery path, such as prototyping, tooling, and engineering improvements, while keeping people leadership and team delivery as your primary focus.

Required Qualifications:

• 7+ years professional experience as a software engineer

• 3+ years experience as an Engineering Manager leading engineers

• 3+ years experience in a technical lead role

• Experience recruiting candidates and growing an engineering team

• Experience with software development, including shipping one or more products on large code bases that span a range of platforms and tools.

• Experience collaborating across teams and disciplines to create solutions.

• Experience developing with C++

• Experience working with game development teams

• Experience working with game engines

• Exposure to working with Unreal Engine

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience with automation

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!

Our Perks:

At Riot we strongly believe in work / life balance, and we encourage that with our open paid time off policy, paid parental leave (for both primary and secondary carers) and flexible work schedules to fit your lifestyle. We also believe that work should be fun, we have co-op gaming areas, a play fund so you can broaden and deepen your knowledge of players and community, and all the snacks you would ever need to power through your day (even healthy snacks!). And that’s not all we offer, there’s also:

• Medical Insurance that covers you and your dependents

• Employee Assistance Program

• Wellness fund

• Donation matching of time and money to registered charities

• Learning and Development opportunities

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.