About the role
The Riot Esports team is focused on delivering amazing fan experiences through global events and regional competitions. Our professional and semi-professional competitive tiers in League of Legends, VALORANT and other Esports involve thousands of players and hundreds of organizations competing every week.
As an Esports Product Manager - Riftbound, you will work on the The TFT & Emerging Esports team. This team is focused on developing new esports and competitions for Riot. This role is focused on building the competitive scene for our new physical trading card game, Riftbound in Korea. You’ll help break ground on our first organized play ecosystem, build relationships with 3rd party organizers, and help shape premier and organized play at the store level all to serve the goal of making Riftbound the best in-person play experience in Korea. You will report to Esports Product Lead - TFT & Emerging Esports.
Responsibilities
Program Strategy
- Translate Korea market insights, program results, and player and partner feedback into recommendations for the Korea Riftbound OP strategy and roadmap.
- Partner with Global Riftbound Organized Play team to balance global consistency with Korea-specific needs and share Korea learnings across APAC.
Competitive Structure
- Deliver and continuously improve Korea’s competitive pathway, from store play and third-party competitions to premier regional events and global qualification.
- Partner with Publishing on prizing strategies that balance competitive prestige, collectibility, and long-term ecosystem health.
Tournament Operations
- Lead the delivery of Organized Play programs with local operators and vendors, managing scope, budget, timelines, risks, quality, and cross-functional communication as needed.
- Serve as the primary escalation point for rules, formats, eligibility, and integrity questions, escalating gameplay issues and compliance or technical risks to the appropriate Riot teams.
Partner and Ecosystem Management
- Build strategic relationships with key Local Game Store (LGS) networks, tournament organizers, PCBs, judge communities, and other Organized Play partners.
- Support Riftbound play experiences at selected events, including Pre-Rift, Convergence Fest, and industry conventions.
Required Qualifications
- 5+ years of experience in product management, program management, organized play, esports / sports tournament operation, or a related field.
- Experience delivering competitive programs or events, including working with vendors, external partners, budgets, and complex operations.
- Strong product and analytical skills, with the ability to develop strategy and translate player and business insights into execution.
- Excellent cross-functional and external stakeholder management skills.
- Working proficiency in Korean and English.
Desired Qualifications
- Experience working in the Trading Card Game (TCG) industry is strongly preferred
- Relevant experience designing and operating esports or sports competition programs is also valued
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!