Mainframe Technical Lead

Mainframe Technical Lead

Leads a cross-functional engineering team responsible for development, modernization, and support of mission-critical mainframe systems integrated with modern platforms (ZConnect, ZDIH) and enterprise DevOps tooling (GitLab CI/CD).

This role drives end-to-end ownership across architecture, engineering delivery, QA practices, and DevOps pipelines, ensuring scalable, secure, and high-quality solutions aligned with enterprise SDLC and regulatory standards.

Key Responsibilities

1. Technical Leadership & Delivery Ownership

• Lead design, development, and support of mainframe applications (z/OS, COBOL, JCL, DB2, VSAM) integrated with modern services
• Own end-to-end SDLC delivery: design → build → test → deploy → operate
• Serve as technical authority and SME across mainframe and modernization initiatives

2. Solution Architecture & Design Governance

• Define and enforce end-to-end solution architecture across: mainframe systems, ZConnect API layer, ZDIH / data integration platforms, distributed/cloud ecosystems
• Own creation and governance of: Solution Architecture Documents (SAD), component, integration, and data flow diagrams
• Ensure: loose coupling between legacy and modern systems, API-first and event-driven design where applicable, scalability, resiliency, and performance considerations
• Conduct architecture reviews and design approvals before development initiation

3. DevOps, GitLab & Pipeline Ownership

• Lead adoption and governance of GitLab-based CI/CD pipelines
• Define and enforce: branching strategies (feature / release / hotfix), merge request standards and approvals, code quality gates (Sonar, coverage thresholds)
• Drive pipeline standardization and automation, reducing manual steps
• Own pipeline troubleshooting and continuous improvement

4. Modernization & Integration (ZConnect / ZDIH)

• Lead delivery of z/OS Connect APIs enabling mainframe services
• Drive adoption of ZDIH and hybrid integration patterns
• Identify opportunities to: decouple legacy logic, enable reusable APIs and services
• Ensure secure and scalable integration with distributed platforms

5. QA Engineering & Quality Practices

Test Strategy & Governance

• Define and enforce end-to-end QA strategy, including: unit testing, integration testing, system / end-to-end testing, regression testing
• Ensure test strategy is documented and approved prior to development

Automation & DevOps Integration

• Drive test automation integrated into GitLab pipelines: automated unit tests, regression test suites, pipeline-based validation and quality gates
• Enforce shift-left testing practices across the team

Quality Engineering Standards

• Establish and enforce: code quality standards (static analysis, peer review), test coverage thresholds, defect lifecycle discipline and root cause analysis
• Ensure test data strategy and environment stability

Release & Production Quality

• Define release validation criteria: pre-production validation, deployment smoke tests, post-deployment verification
• Reduce: production defects, rework and regression failures

6. Engineering Excellence & Automation

• Drive automation-first mindset: minimize manual batch/process work, automate validation, deployments, and monitoring
• Improve: cycle time, deployment consistency, operational resilience

7. Team Leadership & Talent Development

• Lead and mentor engineers across: mainframe technologies, DevOps practices, modern integration stacks
• Build culture of: accountability and ownership, peer review and quality discipline, continuous learning and upskilling

8. Stakeholder & Delivery Management

• Translate business requirements into scalable technical solutions
• Manage: backlog prioritization, sprint execution, delivery commitments
• Ensure adherence to: SDLC controls, audit and compliance requirements

9. Strategic Leadership & Technology Direction (NEW)

• Define and drive technology strategy for mainframe modernization and hybrid architecture (Mainframe + ZConnect + ZDIH + DevOps)
• Align engineering roadmap with business priorities, cost optimization, and risk reduction goals
• Identify and execute opportunities to: reduce technical debt, simplify legacy processes, improve platform scalability and resiliency
• Lead transformation initiatives from: batch/report-driven systems → API-driven and data-integrated platforms
• Influence cross-team and enterprise decisions on standards, tooling, and architecture