Senior Software Engineer (Cobol)

About Nava

Nava is a consultancy and public benefit corporation working to make government services simple and effective. Since 2015, federal, state, and local agencies have trusted Nava to help solve highly scrutinized technology modernization challenges.

As a client services company, we guide agencies constrained by legacy systems to a future with sharp user experiences built on secure, reliable, fault-tolerant cloud infrastructure. We bill for our time, offering our expertise and problem-solving approach to help our government partners enhance their digital products and services. People are at the heart of our work, from members of the public who rely on benefit programs to government agency staff. Through human-centered design and modern engineering best practices, we help our government partners understand user needs and deliver on their missions more effectively. This focus gives everyone at Nava the opportunity to do work that is meaningful, impactful, and deeply connected to public good.

This role is open for multiple levels and titles. Final title/compensation will be determined by how your interview weighs against our core competencies during your interview cycle.

Position summary

The Senior Software Engineer’s purpose is to improve overall engineering quality through documentation, technical guidance and mentoring, and applying best practices to the work. The incumbent leads significant migration efforts and routinely works with government stakeholders to get buy-in on technical initiatives. This role collaborates with the product team, government stakeholders, and other contractors to build new systems and make improvements to existing systems. These responsibilities support Nava’s culture and mission.

What you'll do

• Define the technical vision and modernization strategy in collaboration with clients and the delivery team
• Ensure that the modernized system maintains parity with essential legacy functions while introducing improvements
• Make key architectural decisions that balance long-term program goals with short-term delivery needs
• Prioritize technical tasks and manage trade-offs to align with client goals
• Coordinate with clients and stakeholders to capture critical business rules and constraints
• Serve as a technical counterpart to client engineering and IT teams, supporting alignment and trust-building
• Facilitate cross-functional and cross-delivery-team coordination to unlock dependencies and ensure steady progress across the modernization effort

Required skills

• At least 10 years of experience working in COBOL Mainframe applications
• Significant experience in IMS, DB2, VSAM, CICS, MQ, Jes2, JCL, TSO
• Working experience in IBM and CA utility programs
• Tenacity to dive into problems and iterate in working code
• Familiarity of how mainframe systems interact with other unconnected systems through messaging platforms
• Understanding of the overall process of CICS processing and flow
• Excellent attention to detail around user experience and code cleanliness
• Excellent written and real-time communication
• Interest in researching and uncovering answers to complex technical problems
• Comfort with ambiguity in project direction and interest in supporting a growing team
• Working with other vendors and multiple government agencies

Compensation

$153,000—$171,000 USD

Other requirements

All roles at Nava require the following:

Legal authorization to work in the United States

Ability to meet any other requirements for government contracts for which candidates are hired

Work authorization that doesn’t require visa sponsorship, now or in the future

May be subject to a government background check or security clearance, depending on the contract

Perks working with Nava

Health coverage — comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans to support your overall health needs

Insurance coverage — Nava provides disability, life, and accidental death insurance at no cost

Time off — vacation, holidays (including Juneteenth), and floating holidays to rest and recharge

Company holidays — enjoy 12 paid federal holidays each year on top of your regular PTO

Annual bonus — when Nava meets its goals, eligible employees receive a performance-based annual bonus

Parental leave — paid time off for new parents, plus weekly meals delivered to your home

Wellness program — full platform offering physical, mental, & emotional health resources & support tools

Virtual care — see doctors online with no copay through a virtual visit program (depending on available providers)

Sabbatical leave — earn extended unpaid leave after continuous service for personal growth or rest

401(k) match — Nava matches 4% of your salary to support your retirement savings plan

Flexible work — remote-first environment with flexibility built around your schedule and responsibilities

Home office setup — company laptop & setup assistance provided via Staples for remote work needs

Utility support — monthly reimbursement to help offset eligible home office utility expenses

Learning opportunities — internal training programs and resources to help grow your professional skills

Development opportunities — LinkedIn Learning access & an annual allowance for courses, tuition, & certs

Referral bonus — get rewarded when you refer great people who join the Nava team

Commuter benefits — pre-tax commuter programs to support in-office travel when applicable

Supportive culture — A collaborative and remote-friendly team environment where people genuinely care

Location

We have fully remote options if you reside in one of the following states:

Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, DC, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin

*If you are not living in one of the states listed above, unfortunately, you will not be considered for a position at this time.

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Please contact the recruiting team at View email address on aiapply.co if you would like to request any form of reasonable accommodation during the application or interviewing process.

We participate in E-Verify. Upon hire, we will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S. This role requires you to work from the contiguous United States.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Nava is committed to providing equal employment opportunities without discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, gender and/or gender identity or expression, color, creed, religion, religious creed, age, national origin, ethnicity, disability, veteran or military status, sex, sexual orientation, reproductive health autonomy, pregnancy, childbirth, and medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth, genetic information, domestic violence victim status, marital status, citizenship status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Nava prohibits any such discrimination or harassment. This policy applies to all employees, applicants, contractors, and temporary workers of Nava.