Cobol Mainframe Engineering Lead

Role Overview

Lead a cross-functional engineering team responsible for the design, development, modernization, delivery, and support of mission-critical enterprise applications and platforms. This role drives end-to-end ownership across solution architecture, engineering delivery, quality engineering, DevOps, operational excellence, and team leadership, ensuring secure, scalable, and high-quality solutions aligned with business objectives, enterprise standards, and regulatory requirements.

Key Responsibilities

1. Technical Leadership & Delivery

·       Lead the design, development, modernization, and support of enterprise applications and platforms.

·       Own end-to-end SDLC delivery: Design, Build, Test, Deploy and Operate.

·       Provide technical leadership and guidance across architecture, engineering, and delivery initiatives.

·       Ensure predictable, high-quality delivery aligned with business priorities.

2. Solution Architecture & Design

·       Define and govern scalable, resilient, secure, and maintainable solution architectures.

·       Own architecture artifacts including solution designs, integration patterns, and data flows.

·       Drive adoption of API-first, event-driven, and loosely coupled architecture principles.

·       Conduct architecture reviews and design governance activities.

3. DevOps & Engineering Excellence

·       Lead adoption of CI/CD and modern software engineering practices.

·       Define and enforce standards for:

·       Source control and branching strategies

·       Code reviews and quality gates

·       Automated build, test, and deployment processes

·       Drive automation and standardization to improve engineering productivity and reduce manual effort.

4. Quality Engineering & Reliability

·       Define and oversee quality engineering strategy including automated testing and release validation.

·       Establish code quality, test coverage, and defect management standards.

·       Promote shift-left testing and quality ownership across engineering teams.

·       Drive operational excellence through observability, incident management, root cause analysis, and continuous improvement.

5. Modernization & Technology Transformation

·       Lead modernization initiatives to improve scalability, maintainability, and business agility.

·       Identify opportunities to reduce technical debt and simplify complex solutions.

·       Drive adoption of reusable services, integration patterns, automation, and emerging technologies.

6. Team Leadership & Talent Development

·       Lead, mentor, and develop engineering talent.

·       Foster a culture of accountability, ownership, collaboration, innovation, and continuous learning.

·       Support hiring, onboarding, succession planning, and capability development.

7. Stakeholder & Delivery Management

·       Translate business requirements into scalable technical solutions.

·       Manage delivery priorities, dependencies, risks, and commitments.

·       Collaborate with business, product, architecture, security, and operations stakeholders.

·       Ensure compliance with enterprise governance, SDLC controls, and audit requirements.

8. Strategic Leadership & Continuous Improvement

·       Define and execute technology roadmaps aligned with business objectives.

·       Drive data-driven decision making and continuous improvement initiatives.

   Establish and track key engineering metrics, including:

·       Sprint predictability

·       Deployment frequency

·       Lead time for change

·       Defect leakage

·       Production stability

·       Test automation coverage

9. AI-Driven Engineering & Automation

·       Promote responsible adoption of AI-assisted engineering practices.

·       Leverage AI capabilities to improve productivity, software quality, testing, and operational efficiency.

·       Identify and implement automation opportunities across the SDLC and operational processes.

Required Tech Stack: IBM z/OS, COBOL, CICS, JCL, VSAM, Easytrieve+

Preferred Tech Stack:

Easytrieve+, z/OS Connect (ZConnect), ZDIH (Data Integration Hub), GitLab CI/CD

Mandatory Skills

Cobol