Riot Data Scientists combine their wide technical expertise across data processing, automation, machine learning ("ML"), artificial intelligence ("AI"), and experimental design to inform decisions and develop data-powered products. As a Senior Data Scientist, you’ll dive into projects that focus on cross-team goals. You’ll provide other data scientists with a north star of “what extraordinary data science should look like". You are the lead for complex or significant technical work, where the problem requires evaluation of intangibles. You can customize methods to suit an unusual data problem and juggle technical requirements. You work at a multi-team scale, guiding product vision, technical designs, and other scientists' development across an organization. You lead by example, but you also lead by leading - you achieve results while elevating others' data science craft.
The Technology Research team performs applied research to accelerate the pace of building amazing player experiences at Riot Games. In this role, you will grow and lead a research team whose focus is to leverage NLP technologies to simplify and amplify game development. To this end, your team will track the latest research in relevant areas, work closely with teams to prioritize the most promising research, build prototypes to highlight the value of the research, and in certain cases partner with game teams to create robust and efficient production versions of your prototypes.
Responsibilities:
- Define and develop research topics within your areas of expertise and help create internal training materials.
- Build and own roadmaps, risk management, and project indicators
- Propose, implement, and evaluate new algorithms that expand our natural language capabilities (examples include: disruptive behavior detection, dynamic quest generation, more expressive NPC interactions).
- Work closely with game designers, engineers, and leadership to understand their needs and gather datasets, build prototypes, and look for innovative ways to leverage large language models for game development.
- Stay up to date on the latest academic advances & industry trends within your area of specialization.
- Inform and manage stakeholders on production teams
Required Qualifications:
- MS in Computer Science or equivalent with 6+ years research experience or BS in Computer Science or equivalent with 8+ years research experience
- A background in applied or basic research (in industry or academia) + the ability to lead research through standard experimental methodologies
- 2+ years experience in deep learning or algorithmic foundations of optimization
- Proficiency in C, C++, or Python
- Contributions to public research (e.g. published papers and industry talks)
- Experience in distributed computing systems design
- Expertise with Tensorflow or Pytorch
- Expertise with GPT-3, BERT, or other large language models
Our Perks:
We offer medical, dental, and vision plans that cover you, your spouse/domestic partner, and children. Life insurance, parental leave, plus short-term and long-term disability coverage are also available. Riot will support your retirement benefits with a company match, and double down on your donations of time and money to non-profit charitable organizations. Balance between work and personal life is encouraged with open paid time off, and a play fund so you can broaden and deepen your personal relationship with games.
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).
