Senior Platform Developer
About the Role
Job Title: Senior Platform Developer Location: Remote Position Overview The Senior Platform Developer serves as the primary technical resource responsible for the end-to-end architecture, development, optimization, and modernization of mission-critical enterprise systems. In this role, you will lead the strategic integration of core legacy mainframe technologies (COBOL, TELON, IMS DB/DC, JCL) with modern distributed systems, data warehouses, and cloud-ready data pipelines. You will drive system stability, create resilient batch and online transaction processing environments, reduce resource overhead (MIPS/IO), and mentor engineering teams across the entire software delivery lifecycle.
Responsibilities
- Architecture & System Design: Architect, refactor, and implement scalable online and batch solutions across IMS DB/DC, DB2, and COBOL/TELON environments, establishing reusable design patterns and system frameworks.
- Batch Frameworks & Orchestration: Engineer modular JCL PROCs, automated restart/recovery workflows, and optimized scheduling configurations (CA-7 / Control-M) to compress critical batch processing windows.
- Performance Tuning & Optimization: Conduct deep system diagnostics to resolve high-severity abends, optimize DL/I and SQL database access paths, tune DFSORT memory allocation, and minimize overall resource utilization.
- Re-Platforming & Emulation: Champion off-host testing, workload emulation, and CI/CD pipelines using MicroFocus Enterprise Developer/Server.
- Technical Leadership & Governance: Establish enterprise coding and security standards, lead rigorous code reviews, direct root-cause analyses (RCA), and provide continuous technical mentorship to junior and mid-level developers.
Qualifications
- Experience: 12+ years of hands-on software development and technical architecture experience in enterprise IBM z/OS environments.
- Languages & Core Tech: Expert proficiency in COBOL and TELON
- Batch Control & Utilities: Advanced JCL, cataloged PROCs, and system utilities (IDCAMS, DFSORT/SYNCSORT, IEBGENER, ICEGENER).
- Diagnostics & Monitoring: Deep experience with advanced diagnostic tools, including XPEDITER, Abend-AID, and IBM DEBUG. Advanced ability to diagnose and solve complex coding problems.
- Lifecycle & SCM: End-to-end familiarity with mainframe change management tools (Endevor, Panvalet, ChangeMan).
Required Skills
- Experience: 12+ years of hands-on software development and technical architecture experience in enterprise IBM z/OS environments.
- Languages & Core Tech: Expert proficiency in COBOL and TELON
- Batch Control & Utilities: Advanced JCL, cataloged PROCs, and system utilities (IDCAMS, DFSORT/SYNCSORT, IEBGENER, ICEGENER).
- Diagnostics & Monitoring: Deep experience with advanced diagnostic tools, including XPEDITER, Abend-AID, and IBM DEBUG. Advanced ability to diagnose and solve complex coding problems.
- Lifecycle & SCM: End-to-end familiarity with mainframe change management tools (Endevor, Panvalet, ChangeMan).
Preferred Skills
- Optional Skills & Qualifications (Nice-to-haves)
- Languages & Core Tech: Expert proficiency in EZTrieve, IMS DB/DC (DL/I calls, PSB/PCB generation, transaction processing).
- Data Integration: Proven track record building enterprise ETL/ELT pipelines and handling data conversions (EBCDIC to ASCII/Unicode, COMP-3 packed fields) across IMS, DB2, SQL Server, and Oracle. Expertise in Virtual Storage Access Method (VSAM) is needed for file management and ensuring data integrity.
- Modern Tooling: Hands-on experience with MicroFocus Enterprise Developer/Server for cross-platform modernization and testing.
- CICS: Familiarity with CICS, commonly used for online transaction processing in mainframe environments, facilitates troubleshooting of transaction-related issues.
- Prior HFS or healthcare mainframe experience: Experience with IL Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) or in similar environments reduces the ramp-up time required to understand domain-specific requirements.
- Telon-to-COBOL modernization exposure: Although the focus is on sustainment, experience with Telon migration prepares the team for potential future transitions.