Jobs / United States / Riot Games INC
Senior Manager, Data Engineering - Valorant
Riot Games INC · 🇺🇸 Los Angeles, USA
Sponsorship verdict
Sponsorship possible
One solid signal, not two — worth applying, and worth asking about sponsorship early.
- Employer is on a government sponsor recordThe US Department of Labor certified 64 H-1B/E-3 labor condition applications for this employer between Oct 2025 and Jun 2026 (latest Jun 2026) — the step every H-1B hire needs first. USCIS also records 33 H-1B approvals in FY2023. Source: LCA disclosure data (US Department of Labor (OFLC)).
- The posting doesn’t mention sponsorshipSilence isn’t a refusal — ask the recruiter before investing much time.
- No salary bar for this routeH-1B has no fixed salary bar: the employer must pay at least the prevailing wage for the role and area. Cap-subject employers enter a lottery weighted by wage level. Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/12/29/2025-23853/weighted-selection-process-for-registrants-and-petitioners-seeking-to-file-cap-subject-h-1b, rules effective 2026-02-27.
- What Riot Games INC paid sponsored hires in similar roles1 certified filing for “Manager, Security Engineering” (Information Security Analysts) in CA: $173k–$173k, median $173k. Most were filed at wage level IV (100%) — 4 lottery entries, ≈61% projected selection odds for cap-subject employers. Source: US Department of Labor LCA disclosure data (Oct 2025 – Jun 2026).
- Confirmed live todayWhen a source last listed this job as open.
US H-1B: cap-subject employers enter a lottery weighted by wage level — Level I gets 1 entry, Level IV gets 4 (DHS projected selection odds ≈15% at Level I to ≈61% at Level IV). Universities and non-profit research employers are cap-exempt. The $100,000 fee for new petitions from abroad is currently blocked by a court order (appeal pending).
A verdict summarises public evidence; it is not legal advice and never a guarantee — the employer and the immigration authority decide. Sign in to factor in where you can already work.
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Sponsor Radar — Riot Games INC
The US Department of Labor certified 64 H-1B/E-3 labor condition applications for this employer between Oct 2025 and Jun 2026 (latest Jun 2026) — the step every H-1B hire needs first. USCIS also records 33 H-1B approvals in FY2023. Source: LCA disclosure data (US Department of Labor (OFLC)).
Past sponsorship or register membership never guarantees sponsorship for this vacancy or for you. Full Sponsor Radar for Riot Games INC →
About the role
At Riot, Data Engineers play a critical role in transforming data into actionable insights that drive decisions across the company. Our engineers are deeply player-focused and collaborate across diverse teams to enhance the experiences of millions of players worldwide. As a Senior Data Engineering Manager within VALORANT, you will be shaping the direction of the game by working with designers, product managers, data scientists, analysts, and engineers using data to better serve and understand our game and our players. This role is designed for an engineering leader who thrives in ambiguous environments, takes initiative to solve real problems quickly, and enjoys wearing multiple hats. As one of the senior-most data leaders on the game team, you will influence how data is managed and used across the studio. Responsibilities: • Manage a team of 5 data engineers, provide them career coaching and growth opportunities, and ensure all work is aligned with business needs. • Partner with leaders in analytics, data science, and product disciplines to align on the most important data engineering projects and collaborate with them through all phases of the development and operational lifecycle. • Set the technical direction of the team, including processes and tooling. • Be accountable for the technical health of products owned by the team. • Working with other engineers, standardize best practices for instrumentation, telemetry, and metrics collection • Ensure data quality, governance, and compliance with regulatory standards (e.g., GDPR, CCPA). • Support cost optimization by ensuring scalable and efficient data solutions. • Build healthy relationships with data engineering teams across Riot, and lead by shaping infrastructure, craft standards, tooling, and organizational best practices. Required Qualifications: • Bachelor's or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related field. • 10+ years experience in data engineering or a related field. 5+ years managing a team. • Hands-on expertise in big-data technologies, particularly the Apache stack (Airflow, Spark, etc). • Proficiency in cloud infrastructure (AWS or GCP) and Databricks. • Expertise in designing efficient and scalable data models with large data sets across multiple teams and in collaboration with insights or data stakeholders. • Demonstrated ability to work cross-functionally with engineering, analytics, and product teams. • Experience mentoring and guiding other engineers. Desired Qualifications: • 2+ years of experience in data engineering for major video game titles. • 1+ years experience working with DBT in a production environment • Experience using analytics to drive gameplay and feature changes (ideally from game dev through launch) • Experience working in close partnership with data analysts or product managers. 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. 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 compan