Mainframe developer

Senior Mainframe Developer

Role: Mainframe developer Employment Type: Full-Time Location: Charlotte, NC /Newark, DE / Plano, TX

Primary Skill: Mainframes, Cobol, JCL, DB2

Secondary: Agile, CICS

Experience: 7 to 10+ years

Job Summary We are seeking a Senior Mainframe Developer with deep expertise in IBM mainframe technologies to design, develop, maintain, and modernize mission-critical enterprise applications.

The ideal candidate will play a key role in system stability, performance optimization, and mentoring junior developers while collaborating with cross-functional teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, test, and maintain mainframe applications using COBOL, PLI, and JCL. Analyze business requirements and translate them into technical solutions.
• Maintain and enhance existing legacy systems to ensure performance, reliability, and scalability.
• Debug production issues and perform root-cause analysis.
• Optimize batch and online processing for efficiency and reliability.
• Work with DB2, IMS, VSAM, and other mainframe data stores.
• Participate in system upgrades, migrations, and modernization initiatives.
• Ensure compliance with security, audit, and regulatory standards. Provide technical leadership and mentor junior developers.
• Collaborate with QA, operations, business analysts, and infrastructure teams.

Required Qualifications

• 7 years of hands-on mainframe development experience. Strong proficiency in COBOL and JCL.
• Experience with CICS and/or IMS transaction processing.
• Solid knowledge of DB2 and SQL.
• Experience working in large-scale batch and online systems.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Excellent communication and documentation abilities.
• Preferred Qualifications Experience with PLI, REXX, or Assembler.
• Exposure to mainframe modernization or cloud integration projects.
• Familiarity with DevOps tools (Endevor, Changeman, Git, CICD pipelines).
• Knowledge of financial, insurance, healthcare, or government systems.
• Experience working in Agile or SAFe environments.

Technical Skills

• OS IBM zOS Languages COBOL, JCL, CICS, IMS Data DB2, VSAM Tools Batch scheduling tools (e.g., Control-M, CA-7) Other Debugging and performance tuning tools Soft Skills Leadership and mentoring. Strong attention to detail. Ability to work independently and in team environments.