Interviewing at Riot

We want applicants to think deeply about their skills and interests—and how they line up with the jobs available at Riot. It's not a good sign if you find yourself applying to as many open positions as possible.

While not required, cover letters are a good way to explain who you are, why you want to work at Riot in your specific role, and showcase your personality while you're at it.

The typical interview process can fluctuate (not including time spent for resume review) depending on the role and specific needs of the team.

Video Interviewing: We use Google Hangouts for most interviews at Riot. Since technology can be fickle, we have a few key suggestions to help keep the process smooth:

• Use a headset and microphone combo so your interviewer can clearly hear you. (Don’t have a webcam? Let’s chat and find a solution!)
• If you’ve got connectivity issues with Google Hangouts, we can provide a backup phone number so you don’t miss a beat.
• Need to test your camera and mic? Let us know and we can hop on a test call!

Dress Code: We have a casual work environment, so there’s no need to virtually show up in a suit and tie. But you’re still meeting your future teammates, so it’s smart to at least look somewhat presentable. As a general rule, just be yourself!

Q&A: Be sure your answers cover the Setting you found yourself in, the Action you took, and the Outcome that resulted from your efforts. (S.A.O.) If you find yourself running on a tangent, or lost along the way, think about S.A.O. to help reorient your answer!

In addition, interviewers aim to leave around 10 minutes for questions at the end of every interview. Use the time to dig deep into areas you’re curious about. We’re an open book! If you have additional questions that you don’t get to, let your recruiter know.

Rest Breaks: For panel interviews, we know you’ll need breaks throughout the day. So feel free to get up and stretch every now and then. Just be sure to give your interviewer a heads up that you need to stretch your legs. They’ll be more than happy to accommodate (and probably a little grateful for the break, too)!

Needs change, and people grow. If you've leveled up since your last application, feel free to apply to the appropriate role.​

Referrals can help but are not necessary to apply. A candidate's craft expertise and capabilities ultimately determine whether we move forward with interviews or not.

We only consider applicants over the age of 18. 

Each job description lists the relevant experience required.

Before hitting send, please ensure all info is accurate and up-to-date, including your resume and cover letter, as you will be unable to modify your application after submission.

We take a hybrid approach by entrusting teams to decide the right rhythm for in-person vs remote work. With that being said, we’ll still expect most Rioters to live in the same state as their home office (or the same country in the case of our global offices). 

Working globally depends on the immigration restrictions of the relevant country/region. If you apply to a role in a global office, those recruiting teams will respond if they see a match.

• Online format is preferred (Artstation, personal websites, etc.). Downloadable PDFs are acceptable for non-motion roles.
• If you have private work that is under NDA, please include the password in your application. Otherwise, we recommend you do not password protect your portfolio.
• Ensure your portfolio showcases your best work. For motion art (animation, VFX, rigging), keep your showreel around one minute. It's better to focus on a few good pieces than to try and show everything you've made.
• Test that your Portfolio or reel is accessible.
• Fan Art? Sure! It shows your versatility as it relates directly to our art style.
• Depending on the role, immersing yourself in the game to get the feel, tone and look can go a long way for your portfolio.
• For internships, Please limit application submission to 1 role. You will automatically be considered for similar roles based on your portfolio.

• Include action and combat based animations.
• Locomotion cycles for characters and creatures of diverse shape and size (bipeds, quadrupeds, etc.).
• Expressive poses that give us insight and a deep understanding of the character.
• Gaming specific animations through professional or personal work is encouraged; interviewing folks from a cinematic background is not unheard of, but gaming animations in a reel shows a dedication to pursuing gaming animation as a career.

• Include iterations and sketches in addition to the final rendered pieces.

• Inclusion of references, notes, studies, different angles, how a player interacts with a character or place, and why design choices have been made in your portfolio is recommended.

• Ability to showcase thought process and problem solving skills in addition to your final product.

• We are looking for strong fundamentals in proportions, anatomy, materials, color usage, lighting, areas of detail and areas of rest.
• Show examples that capture a character’s story and portray personality through facial expression and posing.
• Pay attention to dynamic compositions, compelling silhouettes, and creative use of camera angles.
• In addition to your final rendered illustration, we’re also looking for samples from your creation process from start to finish, including reference, thumbnails, color comps, etc.

Rigging

• Include rigs for characters and creatures of diverse shape and size (bipeds, quadrupeds, etc).
• Demonstrate a rigs’ ability to pose in an expressive, resonant way, with potential to exaggerate. 
• Rigs used in-game or within a cinematic are helpful if you can share this content (make sure to credit your Animator if you did not animate it.)

Tools & Pipeline / Assets & Materials

• A portfolio here is not required, but welcome.
• We look for experience writing tools to support artists’ needs within a development pipeline. We want to understand both your technical skill and your creative problem solving ability.

• Try to show work that covers all the fundamentals of good visual effects - shape, value, colour and timing.
• When making visual effects for games, be mindful of the gameplay information you're attempting to communicate, and make that the primary read of the effect.
• For Riot's games we generally create visual effects with a hand drawn, painterly art style, which we recommend is shown in your portfolio as well.

• Depending on the role, visual design can be focused more on branding and marketing or on in-game UI design.
• Portfolio should include case studies that break down the designs, including steps you took, problems solved, style guides created or used, mock ups/iterations and final products.
• We’re looking for some combination of skills within the following: User interface design, typography, iconography, UI illustrations, motion graphics, mobile design, layout, visual hierarchy, web or product design, branding and/or marketing campaigns.

World Building Visual Development

• We are looking for pieces that show exploration of ideas in a big picture view, not the fine details. For example, your work should convey the time period, location, environment, climate, types of creatures in a world, materials available for crafting and how it is used (examples of buildings, clothes, tools, weapons, etc.).

Cinematic or Marketing Visual Development

• We look for film, TV, or cinematics projects showcasing the ideation process of the cinematic piece. It’s good to include mood paintings or mood boards, color scripts, paint overs, diagrams or orthographies for direction, illustrations and some character concepts, props, and environments for storytelling.
  Ideal project examples include cinematic storytelling to inform players about games or game content (characters, game modes, updates, events in a game), illustrations, comics, motion graphics animations, traditional 2D animation or CG Animations.

General Character Art:

• Concerned with both high and low poly characters in a digital medium. 
  A keen eye for anatomy, form, color, lighting, materials and shaders are essential to the role.
  A relevant portfolio includes character concepts that leverage various 3D programs/tools (Maya, ZBrush, and Photoshop) and render technology (Marmoset, Unity, Unreal, Arnold or Vray).

Physical Character Art:

• Concerned with bringing champions, characters, and creatures to life by creating and texturing high poly models in a stylized way.
• A great emphasis on sculpting and fundamental knowledge of anatomy, form, and color.
• Experience working in consumer/physical products that are highly stylized and non-realistic.
• Any work highlighting 3D printed prototypes or concepts would be applicable.

• The usage of hand-painted vs. physically-based rendering (PBR) environment art is based on the role and style of the game to match. Be sure to check the job description for this specification.
• The majority of our games feature a more stylized appearance, meaning realistic art work is hard for us to judge/find a fit for. Tailor your portfolio to each game. Exaggerated features, themes and color are good areas to start with.
• While not a major requirement for most roles, dabbling in concept art will help strengthen your skills as an environment artist.