Lead Mainframe Developer

Cognizant

Mississauga

Hybrid

CAD 71,000 - 112,000

Full time

4 days ago

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Benefits offered by this job

Medical coverage

Dental coverage

Vision coverage

Life and disability insurance

EAP

RRSP and savings programs

Paid vacation and holidays

Wellbeing programs

Professional development opportunities

Employee recognition

Job summary

Cognizant in Toronto is seeking a Lead Mainframe Developer to guide the development, support, and modernization of critical mainframe applications for banking operations.

You will lead cross-functional teams, manage offshore collaboration, and ensure stability, performance, and continuous improvement of mission-critical systems using COBOL, JCL, DB2, and VSAM on IBM z/OS.

Qualifications

8+ years of hands-on experience in mainframe development and support.
Strong expertise in COBOL, JCL, DB2, and VSAM within IBM z/OS environments.
Proven experience analyzing, designing, coding, testing, documenting, and supporting enterprise applications.
Experience leading technical teams and serving as an independent contributor on complex initiatives.
Strong troubleshooting skills with experience resolving production incidents, job failures, and operational issues.
Understanding of secure development practices, compliance requirements, and production support processes.
Ability to collaborate effectively with onshore and offshore teams in a client-facing environment.

Responsibilities

Lead the analysis, design, development, testing, implementation, and support of mainframe applications on the IBM z/OS platform.
Collaborate with business and technical stakeholders to understand requirements, assess impacts, and deliver effective solutions.
Develop and maintain applications using COBOL, DB2, JCL, and VSAM while ensuring adherence to coding and quality standards.
Coordinate offshore delivery teams, review deliverables, and drive successful production implementations.
Investigate and resolve production incidents, job failures, and application issues while recommending operational improvements and preventive measures.

Skills

Mainframe development

COBOL

JCL

DB2

VSAM

IBM z/OS

Team leadership

Incident resolution

Tools

CICS

IBM MQ

Job description

About the Role

As a Lead Mainframe Developer you will make an impact by leading the development, support, and modernization of critical mainframe applications supporting enterprise banking operations. You will be a valued member of the delivery team, working closely with client stakeholders, offshore teams, architects, business analysts, and production support teams to ensure the stability, performance, and continuous improvement of mission-critical systems.

In This Role, You Will:

Lead the analysis, design, development, testing, implementation, and support of mainframe applications on the IBM z/OS platform.
Collaborate with business and technical stakeholders to understand requirements, assess impacts, and deliver effective solutions.
Develop and maintain applications using COBOL, DB2, JCL, and VSAM technologies while ensuring adherence to coding and quality standards.
Coordinate offshore delivery teams, review deliverables, and drive successful production implementations.
Investigate and resolve production incidents, job failures, and application issues while recommending operational improvements and preventive measures.

Work Model

We believe hybrid work is the way forward as we strive to provide flexibility wherever possible. Based on this role’s business requirements, this is a hybrid position requiring 3 days per week in a client or Cognizant office in Toronto, Ontario. Regardless of your working arrangement, we are here to support a healthy work-life balance through our various wellbeing programs.

The working arrangements for this role is accurate as of the date of posting. This may change based on the project you’re engaged in, as well as business and client requirements. Rest assured, we will always be clear about role expectations.

*Please note that this position is not eligible for visa transfer or sponsorship now or at any time in the future*

What You Need to Have to Be Considered

8+ years of hands‑on experience in mainframe development and support.
Strong expertise in COBOL, JCL, DB2, and VSAM within IBM z/OS environments.
Proven experience analyzing, designing, coding, testing, documenting, and supporting enterprise applications.
Experience leading technical teams and serving as an independent contributor on complex initiatives.
Strong troubleshooting skills with experience resolving production incidents, job failures, and operational issues.
Understanding of secure development practices, compliance requirements, and production support processes.
Ability to collaborate effectively with onshore and offshore teams in a client‑facing environment.
Flexibility to participate in rotational support activities when business needs require.

These Will Help You Stand Out

Experience with CICS and IBM MQ (MQ Series).
Background in banking or financial services environments.
Experience supporting large-scale technology transformation initiatives.
Ability to influence design decisions with a strong focus on customer experience and operational excellence.
Experience driving continuous improvement and implementing best practices across application support and delivery teams.

Applications will be accepted until October 9, 2026

Salary and Other Compensation

The annual salary for this position is between CAD $71,000 - $112,000, depending on experience, qualifications, and other factors permitted by law. Compensation will be determined based on the successful candidate's skills, experience, and location.

Benefits

Cognizant offers the following benefits for employees in Canada, subject to eligibility requirements: