Riot Games

You get to work with some of the smartest and coolest engineers on earth from places like Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, etc.

For the scale the software is developed at, it doesn't feel like a high-pressure environment.

It's challenging, but rewarding and fulfilling work.

The campuses are fun, and the subsidized food and visitor policies are great.

As a USA-based contractor, it's absolute heartbreak to be there for a year and have to leave because of contractor protection laws. Foreign contractors get to stay for several years. I was incredibly liked by my team and adjacent teams. My manager told me I'd be a valuable asset at the company, and people were trying to recommend me for a full-time role, but I would have had to interview. The company doesn't allow managers to create new roles to convert contractors to full-time. There has to be an approved need for a full-time role from higher powers at the company. Contractors are only allowed to look for internal jobs to apply for to get converted after six months. So, you basically have a ticking six-month clock to get hired full-time, while potentially competing with other full-time employees. Unfortunately, the year I needed an opening to get hired for, there were layoffs and fewer roles were being created, and some roles were being shelved. So I had to leave, and nobody could help me despite many people wanting me to stay at the company long-term.

Company seems at an inflection point after layoffs where fewer new positions seem to be created.

Change the contractor policy to allow managers to create full-time roles for contractors for easy conversion. View contractors less as temporary bandaids to the engineering woes the company faces.