Riot Games · 2 months ago
Principal Software Engineer, 3D Animation - Unpublished R&D Product
Los Angeles, USA
Full-time
Hybrid
Lead/Staff
8+ years expRiot Games is a company that values collaboration and player experience, and they are seeking a Principal Software Engineer to design and implement animation systems for their unpublished MMO. The role involves working with a team of technical artists, animators, and designers to create high-quality character motion and ensure seamless integration into the game.
ComputerDeveloper PlatformPC GamesVideo Games
Responsibilities
Design and implement scalable and performant real-time animation systems and pipelines tailored for game development
Collaborate closely with animators, technical artists, and designers to empower high-fidelity character performance and interactivity
Contribute to the architecture and technical direction for animation features including state machines, IK systems, and procedural motion
Optimize runtime performance and memory usage of animation systems across platforms
Drive the integration of animation tools with engine features
Lead and participate in technical planning, prototyping, and feature development
Promote best practices in animation engineering and mentor other developers in this specialty
Help evolve content workflows and pipelines to support iteration and scale
Qualification
Required
8+ years of professional experience as a software engineer in the game industry, with focus on real-time animation systems
Proficient in C++ and Python, with strong debugging and performance optimization skills
Shipped at least one AAA game title featuring high-quality animation systems
Solid foundation in 3D math
Experience with modern runtime animation techniques - motion matching, runtime rigs, advanced blending techniques
Experience collaborating across disciplines including animation, tech art, and gameplay design
Pragmatic decision-making, strong product sense, and a deep empathy for player experience
Preferred
Experience working on character-driven games
Prior work on dynamic or procedural animation systems
Experience refining animator workflows and tools in partnership with tech art
Familiarity with working with and extending tools like Maya
Experience with asset pipelines, version control, and data-driven animation architectures
Knowledge of Iris or similar data replication frameworks (optional if applicable)
Benefits
Medical, dental, and life insurance
Parental leave for you, your spouse/domestic partner, and children
401k with company match
Open paid time off policy
Flexible work schedules
Company
Riot Games
Riot Games is a global company that develops online games.
1001-5000 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Riot Games has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (98)
2024 (65)
2023 (113)
2022 (80)
2021 (84)
2020 (70)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$21M2018-12-31Series Unknown· $6M
2016-11-14Convertible Note
2011-02-01Acquired
Leadership Team
A. Dylan Jadeja
Chief Executive Officer
Brandon Beck
Co-chairman, Co-founder
Recent News
2026-01-07
Company data provided by crunchbase