Jobs / United States / Riot Games INC
Staff Software Engineer, Developer Experience & Workflows - VALORANT
Riot Games INC · 🇺🇸 Los Angeles, USA; Mercer Island, 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 roles21 certified filings for “Software Engineer II” (Software Developers) in CA: $158k–$185k, median $185k. Most were filed at wage level IV (58%) — 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
Riot engineers bring deep knowledge of specific technical areas but also value the opportunity to work in a variety of broader domains. As a 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. Engineers join Riot to become masters of their craft. They bring a deep passion for helping bring joy to players via technical solutions. In Foundations, we focus on the game engine, content pipelines, developer workflows, and other critical core capabilities. As a Staff Software Engineer on VALORANT’s Foundations Developer Experience & Workflows team , you will work directly on VAL’s development team, hand-in-hand with engineers, designers, artists, producers, and QA to build systems that enable them to move faster, work with greater confidence, and deliver amazing new experiences to players. To do this, you will design and evolve the platforms, tools, and workflows that power how VALORANT’s game developers create, iterate on, and validate content for both PC and console. Your work will span a diverse set of technical areas, adapting VALORANT’s development platform to meet needs wherever they emerge. This includes leveraging AI to accelerate development while establishing the appropriate guardrails for trust, quality, and reliability. This role will report to the Engineering Manager on the Foundations Developer Experience & Workflows team. Responsibilities: • Create tools and systems that improve developer experience and efficiency. • Work with stakeholders across the organization to address their pain points and exceed their expectations for what development on VALORANT can be. • Influence software engineering best practices for development. • Develop sustainable solutions that are testable, robust, and will ensure a consistent player experience across platforms. • Provide mentorship to more junior members of the team. • Contribute to development efforts through effective breakdown and execution on multi-month development efforts. Required Qualifications: • 6+ years of professional experience in software engineering, including experience delivering live or shipped games at scale • 2+ years professional experience with Unreal Engine • 2+ years professional experience with C++ • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and/or equivalent experience • Have collaborated on cross-team development efforts (3+ months in scope), including requirements gathering, planning, and release Desired Qualifications: • Experience serving on a team that builds player-facing areas of a live game, such as characters, maps, modes, systems, or other in-game experiences. • Experience building shared game development tooling 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 the experiences of players, this could be the role for you! 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 company as a whole, everyone at Riot is part of our