Pros: The culture here is greatly suited to gamers. You are expected to enjoy games, and you can almost always have a good conversation about games with anyone that works here. It's not a company that babysits and holds your hand. You're given a lot of freedom to work on things, which is great for engineers. Of course, sometimes this means people end up making mistakes, but Riot is very open to mistakes and owns up to them. There's tons of room to work on different parts of the company, both in and out of your core competency. An engineer can choose to work on an engineering task that he wants to grow in. An accountant can shadow and attempt to work as an engineer, or vice versa. Heavy feedback culture. People tell you what they think of you, which leads to great improvements in both your professional and personal life. You're never counting down the hours until the end of the day. Most days I look at the clock and say, "Damn... I wish I had more time today!"

Cons: - Sometimes things get lost in the shuffle. All the freedom people get tends to lead to inefficiencies in some areas. - Heavy meeting culture. This is not true for all teams within Riot, but it's generally agreed upon that this is the case. Sometimes entire days are booked with meetings, and it's hard to find time to work on the things you want to work on. - Work-life balance is something that is unique to each individual, so I can only judge based on my own experience. You spend and take on as much responsibility as you choose to. That being said, it's always expected for the person to raise the bar on their own accord, which leads to issues of spending too much time in the office working. Of course, this is something that is not always the case and can be managed.

Pros: Just a bit of context: I relocated to LA from the UK to take the job at Riot. I guess I took a considerable risk. I already had a very senior and well-paid job in a prestigious global investment bank as a lead architect, and had a family settled in London. I also left halfway through the bonus cycle. However, I wasn't really enjoying London or banking (or the commute). I've been at Riot for six months now. Without exception, I've found Riot and the work environment to be very refreshing and full of opportunities. I enjoy the gaming space, the company ethos inspires me, and I'm really enjoying the work and the company culture. I'm glad I made the move for the company as well as the location. Pros: * The game they make is an absolute phenomenon. I'm working on (and making a difference to) one of the most successful games in history. I'm having the time of my life! How often do you get the chance to work on such a prolific system? * Senior leadership is made up of really good people. They think very clearly about complex issues and are very approachable. * Nearly all the original employees are still present. * The quality and energy of the staff is extremely high. The average tech person here would walk all over the average tech person in investment banking. * The people are genuinely friendly and very geeky. I feel quite at home here. * The company is pointed in (what I consider) a very ethical direction by senior management. * They have been genuinely flexible about work hours, areas of work, and dealing with the complexities of an international move. I have really decent bosses. * Politics is pretty minimal (and it's not really organized as a strict hierarchy per se).

Cons: - They've literally got too much work to do. Getting good hires through the door has been challenging, and I've had to spend more time than I would have liked in interviews. - Being apart from my family (my wife and kids are still in the UK temporarily as my eldest is finishing GCSEs) has been tough. I'm glad I moved to California, though; the weather in the UK was really starting to bring me down. - Riot is in transition from a startup to a more mature organization, with all the commensurate growing pains. Coming from banking, I find this very exciting with lots of opportunities, but YMMV.

Pros: Amazing culture, fun place to work, and the work itself is interesting!

Cons: The pay isn't as good as a tech company that would offer RSUs like Amazon or Google.