Staff Applied Modeling Engineer - Unpublished R&D Product

Riot Games•Los Angeles, CA

About The Position

ML engineers at Riot own the full lifecycle of machine learning in production - from problem framing through model design, deployment, and operation - building systems that serve players at global scale. They work across disciplines with engineers, data scientists, designers, and product teams to turn ML capabilities into player-facing experiences and tools for making great games. As a Staff Applied Modeling Engineer on an unpublished R&D product, you will lead the modeling strategy for the team - establishing architecture patterns, setting standards, and continuing to design solutions for the highest-complexity problems directly. Your work will span multi-month efforts and across multiple disciplines, shaping how the team (and Riot) approach applied ML. You will report to the Senior Engineering Manager of the Tech Foundations team within an R&D game project.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Statistics, or a related quantitative field, or equivalent practical experience
6+ years of experience delivering ML systems in production, including 3+ years in applied modeling or ML research roles
Evidence that your modeling choices have been adopted beyond your immediate team - whether through reusable patterns, shared architectures, or influence on how others approach problems
History of working with complex or unconventional data sources where off-the-shelf feature engineering doesn’t apply
Experience in production environments with interacting models, feedback loops, or systems where model behavior has downstream consequences beyond a single prediction
Comfort with ambiguity - you’ve shipped in situations where the success metric, the right approach, or both were unclear at the start.
Track record mentoring engineers across roles and levels; evidence of raising the bar for people around you.
Strong written and verbal communication skills across technical and non-technical audiences
Passion for player experience, games, or creative technology
Proficiency in C++

Nice To Haves

Background in reinforcement learning, imitation learning, generative models, or simulation-based training in interactive environments
Familiarity with ML platform components (model serving, feature stores, ML observability)
Experience working in a AAA game engine (i.e. Unreal)
Experience building multiplayer games
Experience implementing tools for game designers and/or artists
Experience mentoring technical ICs and contributing to engineering culture

Responsibilities

Work closely with designers, artists, and other engineers to discover and conceptualize opportunities for AI-powered workflow enhancements
Establish AI/ML architecture patterns within the project and design solutions for high-complexity problems; guide solution design considering integration and operational constraints
Refine modeling and feature invention strategy for the project; improve architecture trade-offs, signal extraction techniques, and quality standards for complex data sources
Refine multi-model system design and model optimization; improve interaction analysis, dependency management, and performance evaluation techniques
Establish pipeline architecture patterns within the project, aligning with Riot’s shared tech ecosystem; guide workflow design and deployment automation; set reliability standards
Establish research-to-production practices in partnership with research scientists; balance cutting-edge techniques with production reliability
Elevate the team’s expertise in advanced AI/ML methods for game development through mentorship and documentation, and contribute to team health through cross-disciplinary collaboration; level up developers across discipline