Vantaggi
Riot is an awesome place for people passionate about games and hungry to achieve more in their craft. I came into Riot fresh out of a liberal arts college with a lot of soft skills and much fewer hard skills. I didn't know what I was going to do but I knew I wanted it to be in games. I came into Riot ready to prove myself beyond the skills my resume implied. Over the past two years, I've learned a ton, worked hard, made mistakes and made good connections. As a result, I've steadily taken on new and greater responsibilities and really built a career here at Riot. Riot is a place that rewards self-directed type-As who go above and beyond for players fueled by their passion. Although I started in a coordinator role (Riot's entry-level descriptor), I was given the space to take on projects outside of my core responsibilities and meet with senior leaders I admired. This non-hierarchical, open environment is really awesome for those ready and willing to work their butt off for the players. The other perks (dinner when working late, beer during big presentations, parties, offsite trips, lots of swag and internal game tournaments) only deepen my desire to spend time at the office. Our open and trusting culture that we love requires us to hire new Rioters with great vigilance; "with great freedom comes great responsibility." This means that most of the time, I'm surrounded by some of the brightest, most passionate people I've ever met. I never feel like the smartest one in the room and I like it that way. This place is energizing for those who thrive in fast-paced environments where ambiguity abounds.
Svantaggi
Both of these cons are basically just the dark sides of the pros I mention above. First, we're in our adolescence; as a company, we're still trying to figure out who we want to be. We're a young company with ambitious goals and a ton of opinions about how to get there. That means there are ton of loud passionate voices speaking at once and it can be hard to get a word in edge-wise. I feel like it's a struggle to get people to focus on one thing because there are so many other sexier, shinier things to look at. To Riot's credit, they provide a lot of opportunities for Rioters to talk to management about big issues but on the smaller scale, we still tend to listen to those who exude the alpha-male vibe. Additionally, Riot being an awesome place to work also means that people never really want to leave. Work/life balance is really tough when it feels like everyone around you is sprinting all the time. No one is telling you to work late or on weekends, but it's easy to fall into that. I often feel guilty leaving at 7 or getting in after 10 for personal appointments. A lot of that is on me but Riot really leaves work-life balance up to the individual which makes the work-life balance battle feel like a "every man for themselves" kind of fight.