Senior Game Designer - Unpublished R&D Product

Riot Games was established in 2006 by entrepreneurial 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. As the most played video game in the world, over 100 million play every month. Players form the foundation of our community and it’s for them that we continue to evolve and improve the League of Legends experience.

We’re looking for humble but ambitious, razor-sharp professionals who can teach us a thing or two. We promise to return the favor. Like us, you take play seriously; you’re passionate about games. We embrace those who see things differently, aren’t afraid to experiment, and who have a healthy disregard for constraints.

That's where you come in.

As a Game Designer, you will design, tweak, and optimize the player experience. Your analytical skills, player insight, and creativity help craft in- and out-of-game experiences that engage and surprise players. You will collaborate with interdisciplinary teams and work with every tool at hand to create and iterate player-focused designs that will delight millions around the world.

As a Senior Game Designer  on the Unpublished R&D Product team, you will design and refine engaging player experiences through thoughtful game design and creative problem-solving. You will translate high-level creative goals into actionable design solutions, working closely with cross-functional teams to develop, prototype, and iterate on high-quality game content. You will apply your design expertise, player insights, and collaborative mindset to help establish best practices and deliver cohesive player experiences. You will report into the Game Director of the team.

Responsibilities

• Design, prototype, and iterate on engaging game content and player experiences, ensuring a high standard of quality, clarity, and player engagement.
• Translate creative direction and player experience goals into effective, actionable game design solutions.
• Develop and refine content structures and design approaches that support engaging and cohesive player experiences.
• Evaluate and validate design solutions through prototyping, playtesting, and feedback, making improvements based on findings.
• Create clear design documentation that can be evaluated and implemented by cross-functional partners.
• Establish design principles, best practices, and workflows to support consistent quality and efficient development.
• Collaborate with game design and other disciplines to align on design goals, address challenges, and continuously improve the player experience.

Required Qualifications

• 8+ years of professional experience in game design, narrative design, or a related discipline.
• Strong understanding of game design principles, including content structure, pacing, player motivation, and player experience.
• Demonstrated ability to translate high-level creative goals into engaging and cohesive interactive experiences.
• Hands-on experience with game development tools, editors, scripting systems, or equivalent content creation workflows.
• Strong game design judgment, with the ability to identify design challenges, evaluate solutions, communicate trade-offs, and iterate based on feedback.
• Experience collaborating with cross-disciplinary teams across multiple stages of game development.
• Experience delivering and iterating on game content across development cycles with evolving requirements and priorities.
• Fluency in Mandarin Chinese.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience owning or leading game design, narrative design, or related design initiatives.
• Experience in related game design disciplines and a strong understanding of how different design elements contribute to the overall player experience.
• Experience developing scalable content creation approaches and maintaining quality within production constraints.
• Experience working on early-stage game development projects, with a demonstrated ability to navigate ambiguity, iterate effectively, and maintain high-quality standards.
• Fluency in written and spoken English.

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!