Senior Mainframe Modernization Engineer

Job Description:

Client is seeking senior-level mainframe engineers with deep technical expertise to support a strategic mainframe application assessment initiative for a Financial Services client. This is a hands-on role focused on analyzing legacy systems using AI-driven. The assessment will serve as the foundation for subsequent modernization phases, including migration and transformation planning.

You will be responsible for performing detailed technical analysis of legacy COBOL-based applications to uncover business functionality, data flows, and system dependencies. The goal is to generate actionable insights that inform modernization strategies, such as replatforming, refactoring, or integration with cloud-native services. This role requires strong familiarity with automated discovery tools and the ability to work closely with architects and client stakeholders to ensure assessment outputs are accurate, comprehensive, and aligned with future transformation goals. The ideal candidate thrives in a fast-paced consulting environment and is passionate about enabling legacy-to-modern transitions through intelligent automation and deep technical analysis, especially AI/ML based techniques.

Responsibilities

·         Perform detailed technical analysis of legacy mainframe applications to identify business functionality, interdependencies, and modernization opportunities.

·         Use IBM ADDI (Now, part of Watsonx) to conduct automated code scanning, data flow analysis, and business rule extraction.

·         Participate in technical discovery sessions with client teams to gather system context, pain points, and transformation objectives.

·         Document findings and contribute to assessment reports, including recommendations for modernization pathways.

·         Collaborate with architects and client teams to ensure assessment outputs align with future cloud migration, modernization, simplification/optimization and AI integration strategies.

·         Support the development of proof-of-concept models and technical demonstrations as needed.

·         Stay current on mainframe tooling, modernization patterns, and AI-assisted analysis techniques.

Required Technical Qualifications

·         10+ years of hands-on experience in mainframe technologies, including:

o    COBOL, JCL, CICS, DB2, REXX, VSAM

o    Experience with batch schedulers (e.g., CA-7, Control-M, etc.)

o    Familiarity with RACF security and access control mechanisms

o    Proficiency with standard mainframe utilities (SORT, IDCAMS, IEBGENER, etc.)

·         Strong working knowledge of IBM ADDI (Watsonx) automated discovery and analysis tools.

·         Experience conducting application assessments, code analysis, and business logic extraction.

·         Familiarity with AI/ML-driven approaches to legacy system analysis and modernization planning.

·         Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a client-facing consulting environment.

·         Strong documentation and communication skills to support assessment deliverables.

·         Experience in the Financial Services domain is a plus.

·         Act as a trusted technical advisor during early stages of engagement, helping shape strategy and execution plans.

Preferred Qualifications

·         Proven hands-on experience with Mainframe Modernization initiatives, especially assessing the applications, identifying opportunities, building roadmap and all related activities.