Senior COBOL Developer / Programmer Consultant
Location: Blythewood, SC – Hybrid
Job ID: 13915
Contract Duration: 12 Months with Possible Extension
Schedule: Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM–5:00 PM | 40 Hours/Week
Position Type: Staff Augmentation
Interview Process: 2 Rounds of Virtual Interviews
Submission Deadline: October 13, 2026 at 5:00 PM ET
Client: South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles (CLIENT)
Division: Office of Information Technology
About the Position
We are seeking an experienced Senior COBOL Developer / Technical Lead to support the maintenance, enhancement, and development of mission-critical systems used by the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles.
The selected consultant will join the COBOL development team supporting Phoenix, a core business system used to support South Carolina driver and vehicle operations, including state legislative and federal traffic-violation processing requirements.
The Phoenix environment is a Windows-based client-server system utilizing COBOL on the back end and .NET for the user interface.
This is a senior-level hands-on development position requiring extensive COBOL experience, strong systems analysis capabilities, production support expertise, and demonstrated experience leading technical software development efforts.
The successful candidate must be comfortable working independently while also serving as a technical lead and primary liaison between development teams and business stakeholders.
Key Responsibilities
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Analyze the Phoenix core business system and assigned development, maintenance, and system-modification tickets.
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Lead the technical analysis of assigned tickets and projects and recommend appropriate solutions.
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Work directly with business units to understand operational requirements and develop detailed business specifications.
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Translate business requirements into clear technical specifications.
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Obtain business stakeholder approval and sign-off on specifications.
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Design, code, test, debug, and implement enhancements and modifications to complex COBOL-based applications.
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Ensure completed solutions meet approved business and technical requirements.
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Promote application changes through appropriate development and production environments.
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Work with impacted users during testing and implementation.
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Provide Level 3 production support for the Phoenix system.
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Troubleshoot and resolve complex production issues.
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Lead or support planning and deployment activities for software systems.
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Mentor and provide technical guidance to less-experienced developers and technical team members.
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Provide daily and weekly project and development status updates to the Development Manager and Business Analysts.
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Communicate effectively with users, vendors, technical staff, business stakeholders, and management.
Required Qualifications
Candidates should clearly demonstrate the following experience on their resume:
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6+ years of experience with Visual COBOL and/or Micro Focus COBOL.
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Working knowledge of Visual COBOL V9.
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10+ years of experience developing and maintaining complex, mission-critical applications in a Windows-based client-server environment.
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10+ years of experience coding and testing complex COBOL-based business systems using Oracle SQL in a Windows client-server environment.
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10+ years of experience with systems analysis, design, coding, testing, debugging, implementation, and modification of enterprise applications.
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5+ years of experience leading a technical software development team, including software planning and deployment.
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5+ years of Level 3 (L3) production support experience.
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5+ years of experience serving as the primary technical contact for business units, including developing and reviewing business and technical specifications and ensuring delivery of required functionality.
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Demonstrated ability to independently analyze complex application issues and recommend technical solutions.
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Strong written and verbal communication skills.
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Experience mentoring and guiding technical team members.
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Ability to plan, define, lead, direct, instruct, and review technical project work.
Preferred Qualifications
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Experience with Oracle 19+ SQL.
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Familiarity with the Microsoft Visual Studio .NET / C# development environment.
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Previous experience working within a state, federal, or other government environment.
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Experience supporting large-scale, mission-critical government or enterprise systems.
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Visual COBOL technical certifications.
Education
Preferred: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a closely related discipline with approximately 10 years of relevant professional experience.
Relevant extensive experience may be highly valuable when evaluating candidates.
Work Arrangement
This is a hybrid position based in Blythewood, South Carolina.
There is a strong preference for the selected consultant to work fully onsite during the initial training period.
After training is completed, the consultant and hiring manager may discuss a hybrid arrangement allowing up to two remote workdays per week.
Candidates must be able to reliably report to the CLIENT location at:
10311 Wilson Blvd.
Blythewood, SC 29016
Candidate Location Requirement
Candidates must currently reside in:
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South Carolina
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North Carolina
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Georgia
Candidates may relocate prior to their start date at their own expense in order to meet the required hybrid work schedule.
Security & Onboarding Requirements
The selected candidate must successfully complete required onboarding screenings, including:
Important: CLIENT fingerprinting must be completed in the South Carolina at least five business days before the scheduled start date.
The position also requires CJIS Information Security Certification, which CLIENT will sponsor.
About Our Company
DataSoft Technologies is a highly recognized provider of professional IT consulting and staffing services in the United States.
Founded in 1994, DataSoft Technologies, Inc. provides staff augmentation and professional services across Information Technology, Automotive, and related technical disciplines.
Our team member benefits include:
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