Staff Software Engineer, Audio - Unpublished R&D Product

Riot engineers bring deep knowledge of specific technical areas but also value the opportunity to work in a variety of broader domains. As a Software Engineer, you’ll also dive into projects that focus on team cohesiveness and cross-team objectives. You’ll drive important features and provide other engineers with a clear illustration of extraordinary engineering.

As a Staff Software Engineer for Audio on Research & Development working on an early stage product, you will be the technical owner of the audio domain, designing, implementing, and scaling the systems that shape how players hear and feel the game world. Partnering closely with a multidisciplinary team, you’ll strengthen the integration between audio systems and the game engine while helping design and implement new features. 

Your passion, creativity, and critical thinking will be essential in both guiding team decisions and providing valuable peer feedback. While you’ll spend the majority of your time focused on audio systems, you’ll be expected to leverage your networked multiplayer experience in supporting general gameplay systems. Collaboration is core to our culture—you’ll work alongside the Sound Designers, Engineers, Designers, Producers, Artists and other cross-discipline partners to bring a brand new game to life.

Responsibilities:

• Own the architecture and implementation of audio systems from concept to production.
• Partner with the Audio Lead and Sound Designers to integrate gameplay and narrative audio.
• Optimize memory usage, streaming performance, and platform-specific audio behaviors.
• Act as the primary technical liaison for audio, advocating for best practices and scalable solutions.
• Collaborate with designers, artists, and producers to ensure audio tech empowers content creation.
• Rapidly prototype and iterate on audio-driven features in Unreal Engine.
• Contribute to generalist engineering efforts, especially in areas tied to networked gameplay.
• Define best practices for tools, workflows, and testing in the audio tech space.
• Mentor engineers in audio systems and contribute to the long-term technical direction of the game.

Required Qualifications:

• 8+ years of game development experience in a C-style game engine (Unreal Engine, Unity, etc)
• Deep expertise with audio middleware (Wwise, FMOD) and game engine integration
• 2+ years of Unreal Engine experience
• Strong knowledge of multiplayer architectures and gameplay systems
• Experience developing systems that support games in close collaboration with other disciplines in game development
• Experience partnering with teammates across multiple disciplines in a daily work capacity
• BS in Computer Science, or proven understanding of Computer Science fundamentals

Desired Qualifications:

• Product sense and player empathy in making tech decisions
• Proficient with modern day audio software tools (Pro-Tools, Reaper, Plugins)
• Development experience with first person shooters and content-heavy games like RPGs
• Experience building gameplay systems supporting gameplay designers
• Experience building tools and pipelines with close collaboration with art, design, and production
• Experience in prototyping phases or early product development
• Experience developing and shipping a AAA title
• Experience with Agile development

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:

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. Check out our benefits pages for more information.

Riot Games fosters a player and workplace experience that values teamwork embodied by the Summoner's Code and Community Code. Our culture embraces differences as a strength, and our values are the guiding principles for how we approach work. We are committed to putting diversity and inclusion (D&I) at the center of everything we do, and promoting a fair and collaborative culture where Rioters treat one another with dignity and respect. We encourage you to read more about our value of thriving together and our ongoing work to build the most inclusive company in Gaming.

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. We consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with applicable federal, state and local law, including the California Fair Chance Act, the City of Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, and the Washington Fair Chance Act.

Per the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, the following core duties may create a basis for disqualifying candidates with relevant criminal histories:

• Safeguarding confidential and sensitive Company data
• Communication with others, including Rioters and third parties such as vendors, and/or players, including minors
• Accessing Company assets, secure digital systems, and networks
• Ensuring a safe interactive environment for players and other Rioters

These duties are directly related to essential operations, safety, trust, and compliance obligations within our organization. Please note that job duties may evolve based on business needs and additional responsibilities may be assigned as necessary to maintain operational efficiency and security.