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Principal Data Scientist - ML Bots

Riot Games

Los Angeles, California, United StatesOn Site

Original Job Summary

Overview

At Riot Games, the AI Foundations team is dedicated to unlocking cutting edge player experiences through ML and AI. As a Principal Data Scientist - ML Bots, you will lead the modeling strategy on our ML Bots team, working on autonomous Game Understanding Agents that mimic real player behavior in live game environments.

Responsibilities

You will:

  • Lead modeling strategies for ML Bots across various games.
  • Develop predictive features from gameplay telemetry, simulation data, and unstructured game data.
  • Design and implement ML systems using reinforcement learning, imitation learning, and hybrid methods.
  • Define evaluation frameworks balancing generalizable approaches with game-specific needs.
  • Ensure safety, fairness, and operational reliability of autonomous agents.
  • Mentor senior ML engineers in advanced ML techniques and architectural decisions.
  • Collaborate with game, platform, and UX teams to integrate models into production.
  • Represent ML Bots in multi-game forums and contribute to shared development frameworks.

Required Qualifications

  • 8+ years of experience in production ML systems.
  • Expertise in reinforcement and imitation learning techniques.
  • Experience with agent-based systems in dynamic, interactive environments.
  • Ability to extract predictive signals from complex data sources.
  • Proven mentoring and cross-disciplinary collaboration skills.

Desired Qualifications

  • Mastery of experiment design, model evaluation, and autonomous agent optimization.
  • Familiarity with integrating ML-driven agents into live game environments.

Our Perks

Riot Games prioritizes work/life balance with open paid time off, flexible schedules, comprehensive benefits including medical, dental, life insurance, parental leave and a 401k with company match.

Key skills/competency

  • Machine Learning
  • Reinforcement Learning
  • Imitation Learning
  • Game AI
  • Predictive Modeling
  • Data Science
  • ML Strategy
  • Autonomous Agents
  • Cross-disciplinary Collaboration
  • Mentorship

How to Get Hired at Riot Games

🎯 Tips for Getting Hired

  • Customize your resume: Tailor your experience to ML and game AI.
  • Highlight technical expertise: Emphasize reinforcement and imitation learning projects.
  • Research Riot Games: Understand their mission and game technologies.
  • Prepare detailed case studies: Showcase production ML system implementations.

📝 Interview Preparation Advice

Technical Preparation

Review reinforcement learning algorithms and case studies.
Practice simulation-based training techniques and frameworks.
Review ML architecture design for production systems.
Study game telemetry data modeling techniques.

Behavioral Questions

Describe a challenging ML project you led.
Explain your approach to cross-team collaboration.
Discuss handling complex game-based datasets.
Share a time you solved technical conflicts.