Senior Software Engineer, AI/ML - VALORANT

Riot Engineers bring deep knowledge of specific technical areas but also value the chance to work in many broader domains. As a Senior Software Engineer, you’ll also dive into projects that focus on team cohesiveness and cross-team objectives. You’ll lead without authority and provide other engineers with a clear illustration of extraordinary engineering.

Want to build the future of AI behaviors and automation for the world’s largest competitive tactical shooter? As a Software Engineer on the VALORANT AI team, you will work at the intersection of gameplay, design, and systems engineering, contributing features that directly shape the player experience while supporting a large and geographically diverse development team. You will bring strong engineering fundamentals and communication skills as you collaborate closely across disciplines to define and deliver high-quality features. You will report into an Engineering Manager 

Responsibilities

• Design and implement behaviors, decision-making systems, and supporting engine- or gameplay-level features. Write high-quality, maintainable C++ code and supporting tests.
• Partner with design, gameplay engineering, QA, and other disciplines to define AI behavior and ensure it aligns with product goals.
• Develop automation tests and test frameworks that improve iteration speed, feature stability, and correctness.
• Write technical plans for ambiguous or novel problems, ensuring solutions are technically sound, forward-looking, and aligned with product needs.
• Contribute to evolving architecture for AI systems, behavior trees, automation pipelines, and supporting tooling.
• Participate in code reviews, improve engineering standards, and help elevate team-wide technical quality.
• Other duties as required by management.

Required Qualifications

• 4+ years of experience as a hands-on software engineer
• Proficiency in C++ and experience working in large or complex codebases
• Experience building gameplay or AI systems, such as behavior trees, state machines, or decision-making frameworks
• Experience working on AI systems in shipped titles or large-scale game projects
• Strong communication skills and ability to collaborate with multidisciplinary partners

Desired Qualifications

• Experience developing for commercial game engines (Unreal Engine preferred)
• Experience with machine learning AI workflows (training, evaluation, inference)
• Experience writing automation tests or working with automated testing systems
• Experience designing and maintaining test automation frameworks

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!

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.

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.

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.