Principal Machine Learning Engineer - Unpublished R&D Product

Riot Games•Los Angeles, CA

10h

About The Position

Riot engineers bring deep knowledge of specific technical areas but also value the opportunity to work in a variety of broader domains. We work with both new and current technology, creating innovative solutions to solve complex, large-scale challenges and deliver player value. As a Principal Machine Learning Engineer, you’ll lead the development of key features and model high standards of engineering excellence. As a Principal Machine Learning Engineer on an unpublished R&D product, you will be responsible for the strategy, design and implementation of AI/ML driven capabilities for one of Riot’s most exciting new games. You will work closely with other developers to understand their needs, and will be hands-on in conceptualizing, planning, implementing, and maintaining AI-powered solutions to increase developer efficiency. We’re looking for someone who is passionate about empowering their team to deliver great player experiences, thrives in cross-disciplinary teams, is aware of the latest trends, and finds practical applications of AI/ML technologies. You will report to the Senior Engineering Manager of the Tech Foundations team within the R&D game project.

Requirements

10+ years (or equivalent depth) of professional experience in software engineering, including deep experience with requirements gathering and delivering production-ready solutions
Experience delivering AI/ML systems in production, ideally within real-time or interactive environments
Strong background in one or more of the following: reinforcement learning, imitation learning, decision-making under uncertainty, LLM, AI planning, or other systems
Experience working in a AAA game engine (i.e. Unity, Unreal, etc.)
Proven ability to navigate ambiguity and solve complex problems with minimal support
Experience regularly collaborating with teammates across multiple disciplines
Strong communication skills across technical and non-technical audiences
B.S. in computer science or equivalent experience
Proficiency in C++

Nice To Haves

Experience implementing tools for developers
Proficiency working with modern ML/data science libraries and frameworks such as PyTorch/TensorFlow, pandas, etc.
Experience implementing framework level UI systems
Experience in infrastructure and MLOps (such as AI/ML cloud services, containers and model telemetry)
Experience mentoring technical ICs and contributing to engineering culture
Experience working on distributed teams

Responsibilities

Define the strategic direction of the AI/ML space on the team in conjunction with central tech and other game teams
Work closely with developers to discover and conceptualize opportunities for AI-powered workflow enhancements
Lead the application of AI/ML systems to solve developer problems
Collaborate with developers to scope, architect, implement, and test AI/ML-based solutions
Keep up with technical developments in the industry relating to AI/ML and find practical applications that help solve the team challenges
Partner with central teams to create reusable training and evaluation pipelines that can be applied across Riot while adapting to the unique constraints of the game
Advance and strengthen engineering best practices, including code quality, automated testing, and maintainable architecture
Elevate the team’s expertise in advanced AI/ML methods through mentorship and documentation, and contribute to team health through cross-disciplinary collaboration
Proactively identify technical risks and bottlenecks, proposing pragmatic and innovative solutions

Benefits

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.

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