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Senior Manager, Game Design - League of Legends, Gameplay

Riot Games was established in 2006 by avid gamers who believe that player-focused game development can result in great games. In 2009, Riot released its debut title League of Legends to critical and player acclaim. Players form the foundation of our community and it’s for them that we continue to evolve and improve the League of Legends experience, and beyond!

As a Game Designer at Riot, you will craft the systems, mechanics, and content that make up a deeply resonant player experience. you will explore how to best push the boundaries of that experience to build new and engaging moments for players. Your analysis, player insight, and creativity help craft in- and out-of-game experiences to engage and surprise players. You will collaborate with interdisciplinary teams and work with every tool at hand to improve and iterate player-focused designs that'll delight millions around the world.

As the Senior Design Manager on the League of Legends Gameplay Initiative , you will act as the Design stakeholder for multiple gameplay teams and report to the Game Director. You manage the design leads across the Champions, Summoner's Rift, and Competitive team. You will set a long term vision and design philosophy for League, ensure all of our design work hits a high quality bar, while also growing a healthy and high performing design culture across the initiative.

Responsibilities:

• Build a short, medium and long term vision for League of Legends Champions, Systems, Player Behavior, and competitive systems that maintains and grows a satisfied player community
• Review and playtest all design work across gameplay and competitive teams to uphold our craft standards
• Build and refine our design values so that we can avoid repeating mistakes and expand on successful learnings
• Manage team design leads and assist them to build performing, happy, and diverse teams
• Lead recruiting efforts for design to allocate the correct resources to each project and find diverse top developers
• Act as a cross discipline stakeholder, ensuring that all elements of the game will contribute to the intended player experience
• Manage relationships with teams across the organization so that collaboration is effective and trust is built

Required Qualifications:

• 2+ years of experience as a game design manager
• 5+ years of experience as a game designer, at least some of which has been on PVP game(s)
• Senior Design craft ability across Mechanics, Systems, and Metasystems design
• Demonstrated expertise in competitive games having delivered genre leading designs
• Demonstrated managing other designers leading to promotion and substantial positive improvements in their work
• Leadership experience resolving conflict within and across teams, and when needed offering difficult feedback with respect
• Has been a leader on teams who built a healthy culture and higher performance
• Builds strong relationships with leadership from a range of disciplines to multiply their quality and output
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, keeping them on track and providing the essential feedback they need to succeed

Desired Qualifications:

• 4+ years of experience as a game design manager
• 8+ years of experience as a game designer, at least some of which has been on PVP game(s)
• Experience growing other design managers and lead designers - striking the right balance of assistance while letting them have ownership
• Deep demonstrated understanding of League of Legends players and their needs
• Expert knowledge and familiarity with League of Legends design principles and features
• Translates tactical design projects into higher level principles that can be used for cohesion and growth of the wider design organization
• Principal Design craft ability across Mechanics, Systems, and Metasystems design

It’s our policy to provide equal employment opportunity 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)