Software Engineer Interview Experience - Santa Monica, California
Process
I had my first contact with Riot at GDC 2012. After giving it some thought and cleaning my resume/cover letter, I applied in early 2013.
Even though I had an inside 'connection,' my application got lost in the stack, so I had to 'hunt down' a couple of recruiters through LinkedIn to get my first interview. Keep in mind Riot is somewhat small (<1000 employees) and seriously popular, so the number of applicants versus the number of people that can review applications is seriously skewed.
Also, a quick comment about hunting recruiters: I don't think it's okay to just send 'I want to work for Riot.' I had a specific position in mind and a few points explaining 'why' I would be a good fit; I think that helped me a lot.
After talking with two recruiters (one on the phone, one in person at GDC), the real interviews started. I had two phone calls that were mainly centered on my resume/experience and topics I liked (technology, languages, personal projects). There were almost no 'hard' technical questions in the phone calls (unless you consider comparing a compiled vs. an interpreted language a 'hard' question).
After the phone interviews, I got 'green-lighted' for an on-site interview. It took a little time to get the date (around 3 weeks after the second phone call). Again, this was because there are more applicants than interviewers, and Riot has a complex on-site paradigm (which I learned after going) that takes up a lot of people's time.
They paid for my flight, taxis, and hotel for the on-site, and they were pretty accommodating (dates, hours). Once there, it was a REALLY long interview day (I got there at 10 am and got out around 6:30 pm, non-stop interviews, so drink some coffee beforehand or something). Interviews were pretty much 2-on-1, with one interviewer doing most of the talking. There were management-style interviews, experience interviews, and full-on technical/algorithms interviews (be prepared to answer 'Where do you see yourself in 5 years?' all the way to 'How would you design a stack structure that performs well in memory and runtime?'). Brainteasers appeared more than once, usually math-related, so brush up on those areas if you need to.
Playing the game is really important. They will ask you some generic stuff ('Favorite champ?', 'Stuff we have done recently that you liked/disliked?', 'How would you change this or that?'). On top of that, I had a lunch with a couple of people. This was more like a casual conversation, but keep in mind their input will still count.
Another highlight is that they asked me to make a small presentation about 'something I was passionate about in game dev.' I think it is really important for Riot that you are passionate about gaming (in general, not just LoL) and having side projects or college projects in this area that you can show is seriously important. If you plan to apply and have nothing, then you better start looking for an interesting project (mine was pretty new, and I started it because I wanted to join the industry).
I have interviewed with several companies in the past (Google, Facebook, Zynga, EA, Oracle, Intel, and IBM), and I think Riot's is one of the most breadth-intensive interviews, though not the hardest. They gauge a great deal on diverse subjects, so be prepared.
Riot also values culture/personality a lot (way more than other start-ups I've seen). This is hard to fake, and I wouldn't recommend faking it just to join a company if you'd later dislike the culture that surrounds you, so always be yourself and try to feel comfortable when speaking.
All of the interviewers were really nice people. I enjoyed my visit over there and learned a lot about a company that is growing like crazy. I encourage anyone reading this to apply if you find something you like there, but as a warning, the company/culture might not be for everyone; keep that in mind.
Questions
I mentioned several examples in the process. Be strong in all the areas you mention on your resume.
If you say you have graphics experience, expect several graphics questions.
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 6 interview experiences for the Riot Games Software Engineer role in Santa Monica, California.
Success Rate
Riot Games's interview process for their Software Engineer roles in Santa Monica, California is fairly selective, failing a large portion of engineers who go through it.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having very good feelings for Riot Games's Software Engineer interview process in Santa Monica, California.
Riot Games Work Experiences
- 5.0A great company for the right fitSoftware Engineer • Current EmployeeSanta Monica, California, United StatesAugust 12, 2014Pros: 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.
- 5.0The most fulfilling job I have hadSoftware Engineer • Current EmployeeSanta Monica, California, United StatesApril 18, 2014Pros: Teams are truly cross-functional. Because you know everyone on your team is a rock star, it's easy to value and engage everyone's opinion. Everyone here is a gamer. There is no hate for other gaming companies or products. We like good games, and we want to make them and play them. If you are tenacious, honest, and talented, there is a ton of room for career growth, even in the company's post-startup phase. It is not easy or automatic, but the opportunities are there. There's a very entrepreneurial vibe here. See something that needs improvement? Start having conversations and make it happen. There is an open PTO policy, and I am constantly encouraged to take more advantage of it. There is a lot of intellectual desire to be good about work/life balance, but people do get caught up in the presumed importance of what they are doing and forget not to crunch. Sometimes crunch is even necessary, but I've never been on a team where this was true for extended periods of time. In short, Riot wants to have good work-life balance, and the tools are given to everyone to achieve that, but most of us fail to achieve it.Cons: Because it is highly entrepreneurial, Riot can be an uncomfortable place for people who are not assertive and proactive. Alpha-type dominant personalities have a strong advantage here, and though efforts are made to include less forceful sorts in decision-making processes, they are still often left behind. No one is going to pick you up and put you in the awesome promotion you want. If you want to grow, talk to everyone about it, get allies, get mentors, and shadow people. Be the primary owner of your own growth. It's not likely that anyone else will do this for you. We're still dealing with growing pains and haven't figured out the most effective ways to function at the scale we are at. There is some disorganization, missteps, and overcorrections, but there is also an intense desire to improve and fix those underlying issues.
- 4.0To be successful, being a good culture fit trumps everythingSoftware Engineer • Former EmployeeSanta Monica, California, United StatesAugust 28, 2014Pros: - Housing close to the office (5-minute walk), provided by Riot. However, this was not followed up on, leading to many problems with the housing company. Issues included a bad key on move-in and a flood where repairs were not taken care of for weeks. - Weekly lunches with "bigwigs," which are influential leaders and "faces" of the company. There was great advice and structure here. - Impactful, meaningful, and challenging work. I built a product that will ship to the masses! - For the most part, treated like a full-time Rioter. I gave a presentation to an extended team, was able to give input in areas outside of the prescribed work, and received most benefits of full-time Rioters. - Tons of smart people who are always willing to help. - Work/life balance was encouraged. Personally, I don't play games during work hours, but it wasn't frowned upon by any means. - The amount of swag was way too much; it was tough to pack my suitcase going home. - For an engineer, growth is insane. The amount one can learn is empowering and somewhat overwhelming. Try to take in what is possible, not what is "wanted." - Floating is encouraged. Sometimes, a quick half-hour wandering around to another team really helps clear your head and gives you a sense of what other Rioters are doing at that point in time.Cons: - The internship program is pretty new, meaning there are lots of kinks to work out (especially regarding where to go and what to do during off-hours). - There is a HUGE LACK OF DIRECT FEEDBACK in terms of inter-intern communication. - It is easy to get off-track in a project when Riot allows you to get involved in other events and projects not directly related to your role. - Culture fit is everything. Unless you're an all-star in a specific field (I seriously doubt any intern is), Riot will not hesitate to not invite you back if you mess up even once. - There is a zero-tolerance policy on any kind of non-positive behavior / attitude (reputation is everything). - The organization is not as "flatly-organized" as originally told; it is actually really top-down when it comes to hiring decisions and overall product strategy / vision. - There needs to be a dedicated team for the interns, instead of a "part-time project" for people in other teams. - Events were decent and frequent (once every other week or so), but bigger tech companies definitely have a better grasp on how to keep interns entertained. - A bigger emphasis is needed when it comes to onboarding interns. Although a separate presentation was made, the lack of follow-up on this onboarding made the intern experience confusing for the most part.
Riot Games Interview Questions
