Narrative Director - Unpublished R&D Product

As a Narrative Director you are not simply a storyteller, you are the architect who shapes the conceptual backbone of a game. Your craft lies in building cohesive narrative systems: world logic, tone, themes, and player motivations that unify the entire game. You will ensure that the project’s narrative architecture is coherent, elegant, and inseparable from gameplay systems. You translate high-level creative direction into clear narrative frameworks that empower designers and narrative creatives to build consistent, meaningful, and player-driven content.

As a Narrative Director on an Unpublished R&D Product, you will work directly with the Creative Director and alongside cross-disciplinary leaders in design, art, and audio. You will guide the team in authentically expressing the IP through the world while innovating responsibly within that universe. This role is ideal for someone who thrives on conceptual worldbuilding, systems thinking, and cross-disciplinary leadership. You’ll be accountable for the quality and integrity of all narrative surfaces in the game, while managing and mentoring the narrative team that executes on your frameworks.

Responsibilities:

• Build the core narrative framework for the game
• Ensure all creative decisions uphold narrative integrity, internal logic, and authenticity
• Collaborate with Riot IP teams to ensure alignment
• Partner with the Creative Director to break high-level creative pillars into usable, systemic narrative components
• Define frameworks that narrative designers and writers use to create content
• Manage and mentor narrative designers and writers, fostering a shared language of systems-oriented narrative craft
• Provide constraints, pillars, and frameworks that elevate the team’s moment-to-moment content
• Maintain coherence and quality across narrative
• Contribute writing and documentation where needed, but your primary contribution is direction and architecture, not content volume

Required Qualifications:

• 13+ years in narrative design, worldbuilding, creative direction, systems design, or equivalent roles in the gaming industry
• 8+ years managing narrative creatives or cross-disciplinary teams
• Leadership experience shipping a AAA or major live game in a narrative, creative, or design capacity
• Ability to evaluate and ensure quality across writing, VO, worldbuilding, and systemic narrative surfaces, even without personally writing all of them
• Capable of operating with minimal support and driving clarity across complex creative spaces
• Portfolio or samples demonstrating worldbuilding, narrative system design, thematic architecture, or conceptual frameworks.

Desired Qualifications:

• Professional experience working within established IP and crafting new IP systems.
• Experience collaborating with cross-disciplinary leads in design, IP, and art to create unified world experiences.

Application Requirements:
Along with your application, please also include work samples. We are looking for samples demonstrating your ability to craft narrative systems, world logic, thematic pillars, or conceptual frameworks. Please also include brief storytelling writing samples of traditional scripts and/or prose.

For this role, you'll find success through craft expertise and a collaborative spirit that prioritizes the delight of players. We will look at your past studies and experience, but for this role, we also look for dedicated people with a personal relationship with games. If you embody player empathy and care about players' experiences, this is the role for you!

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 everyday. 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.

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.

• (Los Angeles Only) Base salary range between $224,800.00 - $337,700.00 USD + incentive compensation + equity + 401K with company match + medical, dental, vision, and life insurance + short and long-term disability + open PTO.