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AMAA - Riot Games QA Careers and questions

RiotDannamoth·5/15/2014, 9:07:33 PM·38 votes·47,131 views

Hello I’m Sean ‘Dannamoth’ Radak joined by Chris ‘Riot Spider’ Buzon

We're always looking for really talented people to join our QA team. Many of you probably don't know how we work or why we think QA at Riot is an awesome place to work, though! With that said, we would like to open the thread to any questions you have for us about QA at Riot Games. To start the thread off we want to hit on a few different popular questions. (Other folks working in the QA department will probably chime in as they have something to say/answer)

1. What does QA do at Riot?

The short answer is- “a bunch of things”. We have Game Analysts that live and breathe competitive League of Legends and work with our champion and gameplay design teams creating and modifying content. We have test engineers that build automation frameworks and assist us in driving on continuous delivery. We have QA leads that focus on the growth and mentorship of the analysts on the teams they work with.

2. What is your day like?

Our general day to day activities will depend on the team you’re working on. Our core work hours are 10am-7pm. If you’re working on the Events QA team you will be supporting one of our many global esports events. This would include trips to Europe, various locations around the US, or any other manner of locations. Almost all of the QA at Riot are embedded on the teams they work with. Someone working with the Skins team is going to have a very different day than an Analyst working with the Patcher team. Some things that you might be doing throughout the day: Playtesting new champions or live balance changes, combing through the forums or reddit to hunt down any escaped bugs, participating in long term team planning, and test plan creation/execution.

3. Do I need to be Challenger Tier to work at Riot?

No, but that depends on what you want to do. Almost all of the QA Analysts working with designers on live balance changes are platinum to challenger tier. Other positions don’t need to have mad League of Legends skills, but it never hurts. Almost all of the game focused QA positions are going to require a strong knowledge of the game.

4. Where is Riot Games?

We’re lots of places, you can check out all the specific office locations on our careers page www.riotgames.com/careers . Our Headquarters are located in Santa Monica. We have open QA positions in Saint Louis, Santa Monica and a few other locations. If you’re interested in applying, please include this post and specifically reference “Dannamoth” in your cover letter, this will help us track those who apply!

266 Comments

ModCaptainMårvelous5/15/2014, 9:49:06 PM5 votes

Hey there Sean, to being I'm just going to say that I have high aspirations for working at Riot. I've applied to internships for two years now, applied to a few job positions and, while nothing has come from it, I do have a few Rioter friends who do vouch for me when it comes to cultural references ("Yeah he's definitely a fit here in terms of the kind of people Riot looks for!")

I'm primarily a writer but I'd love to help Riot in any capacity or way. So with that said, here are a few questions I have that will influence if I apply for this position or not:

  • 1.) How much experience or previous work do you feel applies to QA? Do you feel this is a great job that I can get with only a little-to-no experience or do you feel that I should have several, very specific qualifications?

  • 2.) As I said, I'm primarily a writer. Do you think there's a quality team that I can contribute to with this skill at all?

  • 3.) I'm a diehard league fan (Played since MF release) and decently ranked (Bronze/Silver/gold in Season 1/2/3, respectively). Does this meet expectations? Fall short? Go above and beyond in terms of Rioters?

  • 4.) I currently live in Florida and I'm a student, but as I said I am very serious in working at Riot. Would my position hurt in getting this job? Would Riot consider it bad that I am willing to forgo some education for the sake of working at Riot? (Not to say dropping 100% "never going to school again" but I'd certainly be taking less/no classes to dedicate myself to this position)

  • 5.) What do you consider the ideal candidate for any of these QA positions? Someone intelligent with a lot of experience? Someone who has an enormous drive to improve league and riot for the community? Someone who games day-and-night and lives n' breaths video games themselves?

  • 6.) Would it be possible to add you on the in-game client or in twitter to further discuss this along with a tad more personal information? As much as I'd like to, putting some more real-life info on the forums isn't the best.

Like I said, I'm very serious about working at Riot and even if this position isn't right for me, I assure you that you -will- hear about me someday. Above all else, I owe it to both Riot and the community of League to make this game go even further and grander in scale.

RiotRiot Velocity5/15/2014, 9:29:58 PM4 votes

Hey guys, just wanted to say that I hope to be meeting you all very soon!

I have an interview for a Game Analyst position coming up this next week and I'm very much hoping to join the exceptionally handsome Riot Games family.

Keep up the amazing work, and thanks for providing this awesome game for so many awesome people.

DadAmes5/16/2014, 1:39:27 AM4 votes

Hey Riot,

Are there any technical or engineering positions available in QA? I love making things awesome, but I also love writing code!

Thanks, Ames

YetiGT5/15/2014, 9:33:57 PM4 votes

What is one of (in your opinion)the biggest challenges as a QA tester at riot?

The Ultimator5/15/2014, 9:38:02 PM3 votes

If I somehow end up working this job, will I be able to slap unsuspecting players with the legendary 1RP like RiotAmes?

AP Ezreal God5/15/2014, 9:15:59 PM3 votes

What kind of specialities are required to get into QA?

What classes should I take at college for anything videogames?

Computer Science is a must, and I know people like Lyte have other degrees, so what else can I focus my time on (other than LoL) when I'm not at school/doing schoolwork?

Lastly, how big is the QA department, and how demanding is it to work in QA?

andrei504975/15/2014, 9:20:04 PM2 votes

What about the Localisation QA jobs? Do you have any info on these positions imply?

Ezrya5/15/2014, 9:16:47 PM2 votes

Hi, im leaving school soon and im interested in working at Riot as i have been a fan of LoL for a while. I was wondering if Riot offer apprenticeships ? and if you do how do apply for one ?

TiberiusAudley5/15/2014, 9:19:17 PM2 votes

I want to be a game designer for League of Legends, but keep failing the application process by being good but not good enough.

I was a Master Beta Tester (rank #314) but have only been able to climb to Plat since then. I'm a former Halo coach, have been a top 25-ranked Mr. N player in Divekick.

How would I best demonstrate my potential as a Game Analyst in order to attempt to get hired for that department, which no longer has a job listing?

IonCannonKarthus5/15/2014, 9:31:54 PM2 votes

I just need to know, for science reasons. @Riot Ames, when did you first decide to take up the mantle of RP giver and ruin someones perfect score of Zero RP?

Sir ArmaMalum5/15/2014, 10:20:16 PM1 votes

Reading through, I notice 'having a project to point to' has been a consistent good bonus to any application. In your eyes what is a 'good project'? Can it be something as universal as a youtube channel or would you prefer a more specific and specialized project to consider it as a plus to a resume?

Pìkachu5/15/2014, 10:32:51 PM1 votes

As QA lets say.. for content, when gathering information from users' feedback, what percentage is weighed when gathering feedback? Is feedback data only gathered from League of Legends Forums and Reddit? Do you guys also get feedback from other sites as well to direct towards new content or content changes? What about feedback on your social media sites are those taken into account as well?

DeSolu5/15/2014, 10:33:46 PM1 votes

Random question: Do you have lawyer employees?

HighestSupreme5/15/2014, 10:15:15 PM1 votes

Howdy there, I was wondering if any QA Rioters write? I want to get into Riots narrative department and I'm working on my portfolio, so I'm wondering if this is another avenue I can go down.