Lead Mainframe Developer – COBOL, JCL, DB2 & CICS

Madison, WI

Full Time 

Position Overview

Work on business-critical mainframe applications involving development, maintenance, performance optimization, and production support. This role combines hands-on mainframe programming with technical leadership, cross-functional coordination, code quality oversight, and mentorship of junior developers.

The ideal candidate brings strong experience with COBOL, JCL, DB2, and CICS, along with the ability to troubleshoot production issues, support batch and online processing, and contribute to system upgrades, migrations, and modernization initiatives.

What You'll Do / Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, test, and maintain mainframe applications using COBOL, JCL, DB2, and CICS.
• Analyze business requirements and translate them into technical specifications.
• Lead development efforts and coordinate with cross-functional teams.
• Provide technical guidance and mentorship to junior developers.
• Conduct code reviews and ensure adherence to coding standards and best practices.
• Troubleshoot and resolve production issues while minimizing downtime.
• Support batch and online processing systems.
• Optimize the performance of existing applications and databases.
• Collaborate with stakeholders, business analysts, and QA teams.
• Participate in system upgrades, migrations, and modernization initiatives.

Required Qualifications

• Over 4 years of hands-on experience in mainframe technologies.
• Strong experience with COBOL, JCL, DB2, and CICS.
• Hands-on experience with mainframe utilities and tools such as SORT, IDCAMS, and File-AID.
• Knowledge of VSAM datasets and file handling.
• Experience with batch processing and scheduling tools such as Control-M or CA7.
• Good understanding of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC).
• Strong debugging and problem-solving skills.
• Experience with code versioning tools such as Endevor or Changeman.