Release Manager Jobs in California

INTRODUCTION

As a Release Manager II on VALORANT, you'll be joining the team responsible for updating and deploying our game to our players everywhere. You will be involved with improving our product delivery pipeline with a continuous delivery mindset, using both process and technology at your disposal. You understand what fuels games as a live service and have a passion to improve the experience for internal developers getting content out the door, and most importantly, for our players. You are a communication authority able to craft efficient and clear messages to any size group or situation. You will wrangle processes and organize teams to keep the momentum building and foster teamwork and continuous improvement across the organization.

Responsibilities

- Operate and improve the release and deployment process in collaboration with other Release Managers, ensuring a high-quality global player experience
- Own specific areas of the release pipeline, maintaining readiness, identifying risks, and driving issues to resolution
- Coordinate across development, operations, and product teams, facilitating decisions that impact live service health
- Partner with product teams to review and strengthen release practices, identifying risks early and driving mitigations before they impact players
- Identify gaps in the delivery pipeline and contribute to improvements, working with other Release Managers and partner teams to implement solutions
- Engage with technical systems and tooling, investigating issues, leveraging automation, and partnering with engineers to improve reliability and efficiency
- Support and reinforce consistent release practices across teams, contributing to a culture of accountability and continuous improvement

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

- A minimum of 3 years of experience in Release Management or related roles (e.g. Technical QA, Live Operations, DevOps) within PC software or live service environments, demonstrating ownership of release or live service operations
- Experience working with CI/CD pipelines and development tools (e.g. Jenkins, Perforce, Git, Datadog, JIRA), with the ability to troubleshoot issues and collaborate effectively with engineers
- Comfort working with technical systems, including using scripting, automation, or AI-assisted tools to improve workflows
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to tailor messaging to different audiences
- Proven ability to drive issues to resolution in a live service or operational environment
- Experience coordinating work across multiple teams and delivering on scoped projects

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

- 4+ years of experience in Release Management or related roles (e.g. Technical QA, Live Operations, DevOps) within PC software or live service environments
- Release management experience in cross-platform, cross-play, or cross-progression features

For this role, you'll find success through craft expertise, a collaborative spirit, and decision-making that prioritizes the delight of players. We will be looking at your past studies, experience, and your personal relationship with games. If you embody player empathy and care about players' experiences, this could be your role!

OUR PERKS

Riot focuses on work/life balance, shown by our open paid time off policy and other perks such as flexible work schedules. We offer medical, dental, and life insurance, parental leave for you, your spouse/domestic partner, and children, and a 401k with company match. Check out our benefits pages for more information. At Riot Games, we put players first. That mission drives every decision in our quest to create games and experiences that make it better to be a player. Whether you’re working directly on a new player-facing experience or you’re supporting the company as a whole, everyone at Riot is part of our mission. And just like in our games, we’re better when we work together. Our goal is to create collaborative teams where you are empowered to bring your unique perspective every day. If that sounds like the kind of place you want to work, we’re looking forward to your application.

It’s our policy to provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants and members of Riot Games, Inc. Riot Games makes reasonable accommodations for handicapped and disabled Rioters and does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, handicap, veteran status, marital status, criminal history, or any other category protected by applicable federal and state law. We consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with applicable federal, state and local law, including the California Fair Chance Act, the City of Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, and the Washington Fair Chance Act.

DUTIES

Per the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, the following core duties may create a basis for disqualifying candidates with relevant criminal histories:
- Safeguarding confidential and sensitive Company data
- Communication with others, including Rioters and third parties such as vendors, and/or players, including minors
- Accessing Company assets, secure digital systems, and networks
- Ensuring a safe interactive environment for players and other Rioters

These duties are directly related to essential operations, safety, trust, and compliance obligations within our organization. Please note that job duties may evolve based on business needs and additional responsibilities may be assigned as necessary to maintain operational efficiency and security.