Data Scientist, Ricochet Anti-Cheat (Call of Duty)
Sherman Oaks, CA - USA
Job Summary
Your Mission
Call of Duty is one of the most iconic and successful video game franchises in the world delivering unforgettable experiences to millions of players every day. At the heart of that experience is fair play and that is where the Ricochet Anti-Cheat team comes in.
Our mission is to protect the integrity of the online experience ensuring every player enjoys a level playing field. As a Data Scientist on Ricochet you will analyze investigate and translate complex data into insights that help detect prevent and respond to cheating across Call of Duty live titles.
The Role
We are seeking a Data Scientist to help secure the Call of Duty franchise by producing structured insights experiments and analyses that improve Ricochet anti-cheat outcomes at scale.
In this role you will partner with anti-cheat engineers analysts operations specialists game designers and producers to answer ambiguous questions evaluate detections measure model impact and identify new opportunities for anti-cheat initiatives. You will support the broader Ricochet organization through consultation data analysis data engineering experimentation dashboards and executive-level reporting.
This role is ideal for someone who combines strong statistical and data science fundamentals with curiosity about adversarial player behavior a passion for competitive integrity and the communication skills to make complex findings actionable for technical and non-technical partners.
What you bring to the table
- Analyze gameplay telemetry enforcement data behavioral signals and other large-scale datasets to investigate cheating patterns and anti-cheat outcomes.
- Collaborate on the ETL data analysis and measurement strategy for machine-learning projects that enhance detection prevention and response to cheating.
- Design and execute experiments and analyses that measure the impact of models detections interventions and enforcement workflows on players and the business.
- Answer ambiguous questions with practical evidence-based recommendations that help Ricochet prioritize anti-cheat initiatives.
- Produce dashboards recurring reports and executive-level summaries that clearly communicate results trends impediments and impact.
- Partner with game designers engineers producers analysts and operations teams to identify new opportunities for anti-cheat improvements.
- Support validation of new anti-cheat detections and model changes before broader deployment with attention to effectiveness and false-positive risk.
- Help improve the quality consistency and transparency of anti-cheat data pipelines metrics analysis standards and reporting practices.
- Stay current on advances in anti-cheat technology statistical analysis experimentation data science and adversarial behavior analysis.
- Learn from senior team members share knowledge with peers and contribute to a culture of fairness accountability and continuous improvement in game security.
Player Profile
Minimum requirements:
Experience
- 3 years of experience using data science to solve real-world problems with measurable impact on users and the business.
- Experience working with large data volumes for production analytics experimentation or reporting purposes.
- Working knowledge of experimentation methods impact measurement statistical analysis and metrics development.
- Experience building or maintaining dashboards reports and repeatable analytical workflows for stakeholders.
Knowledge & Skills
- Masters degree or equivalent work experience in Data Science Computer Science Data Analysis Statistics or a related field.
- Competence with Python SQL and PySpark for data analysis data engineering and production-scale workflows.
- Strong understanding of data analysis statistics experimentation measurement design and practical model evaluation.
- Familiarity with large data lake or warehouse environments such as Databricks Snowflake or similar platforms.
- Ability to synthesize multiple data sources into clear conclusions recommendations and decision-ready narratives.
- Practical understanding of data quality ETL schema evolution and analytical reproducibility in large-scale environments.
- Ability to prioritize effectively across investigations analyses stakeholder requests and long-term data science initiatives.
Key Attributes
- Ability to communicate clearly with both technical and non-technical stakeholders including concise documentation and executive-ready reporting.
- Strong analytical judgment attention to detail and ability to work through ambiguous problems with incomplete or noisy data.
- Ability to learn from senior team members and contribute to the growth and success of others on the team.
- Passion for multiplayer gaming and preserving competitive integrity.
Extra Points
Minimum requirements:
Experience
- Experience developing agentic orchestration workflows that result in production outcomes.
- Experience with machine-learning-assisted detection systems model monitoring or adversarial behavior analysis.
- Experience with game telemetry player behavioral analysis or live-service game operations.
- Experience using SQL Python or scripting to automate repeatable analysis anomaly detection or reporting workflows.
Knowledge & Skills
- Familiarity with Call of Duty gameplay systems and mechanics competitive multiplayer ecosystems or common cheating methods.
Key Attributes
- Video game enthusiasm and curiosity about how data can improve fairness and player trust.
Your Platform
Activision Central Tech works to support our development studios and their titles. Comprised of seven main teams we have many specialties including big data privacy and security motion capture and animation pipeline technologies graphics build and infrastructure for studio development and data centers optimization systems programming and online services including matchmaking and networking. Central Tech is distributed globally with offices across the U.S. and in Canada England Ireland and Japan.
Most of our teams are comprised of both engineering and research talent allowing us to always have an eye on the future. Our talented engineers help with title development and provide valuable knowledge sharing between studios while our researchers are action-oriented and keep a strong connection with the needs of the game studios.
Central Tech is part of Activision. To learn more about us and our research please visit us at World
At Activision we strive to create the most iconic brands in gaming and entertainment. Were driven by our mission to deliver unrivaled gaming experiences for the world to enjoy together. We are home to some of the most beloved entertainment franchises including Call of Duty Crash Bandicoot Tony Hawks Pro Skater and Guitar Hero. As a leading worldwide developer publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and products our press start is simple: delight hundreds of millions of players around the world with innovative fun thrilling and engaging entertainment experiences.
Were not just looking back at our decades-long legacy; were forging ahead to keep advancing gameplay with some of the most popular titles and sophisticated technology in the world. We have bold ambitions to create the most inclusive company as we know our success comes from the passionate creative and diverse teams within our organization.
Were in the business of delivering fun and unforgettable entertainment for our player community to enjoy. And our future opportunities have never been greater this could be your opportunity to level up.
Ready to Activate Your Future
We love hearing from anyone who is enthusiastic about changing the games industry. Not sure you meet all qualifications Let us decide! Research shows that women and members of other under-represented groups tend to not apply to jobs when they think they may not meet every qualification when in fact they often do! We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and strongly encourage you to apply.
We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race religion color national origin gender sexual orientation gender identity age marital status veteran status or disability status among other characteristics.
We are committed to working with and providing reasonable assistance to individuals with physical and mental disabilities. If you are a disabled individual requiring an accommodation to apply for an open position please email your request to. General employment questions cannot be accepted or processed here. Thank you for your interest.
Rewards
We provide a suite of benefits that promote physical emotional and financial well-being for Every World - weve got our employees covered! Subject to eligibility requirements the Company offers comprehensive benefits including:
- Medical dental vision health savings account or health reimbursement account healthcare spending accounts dependent care spending accounts life and AD&D insurance disability insurance;
- 401(k) with Company match tuition reimbursement charitable donation matching;
- Paid holidays and vacation paid sick time floating holidays compassion and bereavement leaves parental leave;
- Mental health & wellbeing programs fitness programs free and discounted games and a variety of other voluntary benefit programs like supplemental life & disability legal service ID protection rental insurance and others;
- If the Company requires that you move geographic locations for the job then you may also be eligible for relocation assistance.
Eligibility to participate in these benefits may vary for part time and temporary full-time employees and interns with the Company. You can learn more by visiting the U.S. the standard base pay range for this role is $88700.00 - $164080.00 Annual. These values reflect the expected base pay range of new hires across all U.S. locations. Ultimately your specific range and offer will be based on several factors including relevant experience performance and work location. Your Talent Professional can share this roles range details for your local geography during the hiring addition to a competitive base pay employees in this role may be eligible for incentive compensation. Incentive compensation is not guaranteed. While we strive to provide competitive offers to successful candidates new hire compensation is negotiable.
Required Experience:
IC
About Company
Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, we’re the team behind Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Call of Duty: WWII. As one of the top video game developers in the industry, we dive head first into every new project, ready to ideate and create. The strength of our teams makes us not ... View more