RPG Programmer

Programmers.io; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Programmers.io is seeking an experienced RPG Programmer to join a remote, contract role focused on day-to-day production support and enhancement of an IBM i / AS400 environment. You will work on RPG, RPGLE, CL, Synon 2E, and DB2/400 components within a BAU team, addressing incidents and implementing improvements.

The role emphasizes hands-on maintenance, code reviews, and collaboration with business analysts and QA in a remote-first delivery model.

Qualifications

• Strong hands-on experience with RPG and RPGLE on IBM i / AS400 (5+ years preferred).
• Solid working experience with Synon 2E / Cool 2E generated applications.
• Working knowledge of CL programming.
• Experience with DB2/400 — physical files, logical files, and SQL/DDS objects.

Responsibilities

• Provide ongoing production support and maintenance for RPG/RPGLE and CL applications on IBM i / AS400.
• Troubleshoot and resolve incidents, break-fixes, and production issues within SLAs.
• Develop, test, and deploy enhancements and changes to existing programs.
• Work with DB2/400 files and support application changes and issue resolution.
• Support and maintain Synon 2E / Cool 2E generated applications.

Skills

RPG / RPGLE

Synon 2E / Cool 2E

CL (Control Language)

DB2/400

COBOL

Tools

Jira

ServiceNow

Job description

Programmers.io is currently looking for an "RPG Programmer"

Remote Role

Contract Role

About the Opportunity

Programmers.io supports a public sector client's existing IBM i (AS/400) application landscape, which runs a mix of RPG, RPGLE, CL, COBOL, Synon 2E (Cool 2E), LANSA, and DB2/400. This role is a position on the existing development and support team — it is focused on day-to-day production support, maintenance, and enhancement of the current live environment.

Note: This is not a reverse engineering, modernization, or transformation role, and this position is not part of any separate modernization/transformation initiative or bid. The successful candidate will join the existing BAU (business-as-usual) team responsible for keeping the current system running smoothly.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide ongoing production support and maintenance for existing RPG/RPGLE and CL applications on IBM i / AS400.
• Troubleshoot and resolve day-to-day incidents, break-fixes, and production issues within agreed SLAs.
• Develop, test, and deploy enhancements, change requests, and minor modifications to existing programs.
• Work with DB2/400 physical files, logical files, display files, and printer files to support application changes and issue resolution.
• Support and maintain functionality built using Synon 2E / Cool 2E generated applications.
• Perform code reviews, unit testing, and documentation updates for changes made to the existing system.
• Monitor and support batch jobs, schedules, and interfaces that are part of daily/weekly/monthly operations.
• Collaborate with the existing IBM i team, business analysts, and QA to prioritize and deliver support tickets and enhancement requests.
• Escalate and clearly document any recurring issues, technical debt, or risks identified while supporting the system.

Required Skills & Experience — Weighted by Client Environment Footprint

Given the technology composition of the client's current application estate, no single candidate is expected to be equally expert in all three legacy technologies. Candidates should be evaluated primarily on RPG/RPGLE and Synon 2E strength, with COBOL treated as a secondary, supporting skill.

Must-Have (Primary Weightage — RPG/RPGLE & Synon 2E)

• Strong hands-on experience with RPG and RPGLE on IBM i / AS400 (5+ years preferred) — this is the dominant technology across the client's application portfolio.
• Solid working experience with Synon 2E / Cool 2E generated applications — a significant share of the client's business logic is built/generated through Synon, so this is a mandatory skill, not a nice-to-have.
• Working knowledge of CL (Control Language) programming.
• Experience with DB2/400 — physical files, logical files, and SQL/DDS-based database objects.

Secondary / Supporting Skill (Lower Weightage — COBOL)

• Basic to working exposure to COBOL is helpful, as a smaller portion of the application estate includes COBOL programs, but deep COBOL expertise is not the primary requirement for this role.
• Candidates strong in RPG/RPGLE and Synon 2E but with limited COBOL exposure will still be considered strong fits, since COBOL represents a smaller share of the environment compared to RPG/Synon.

Good to Have

• Exposure to LANSA 4GL applications.
• Experience supporting (not necessarily building) integrations, interfaces, or batch processes on IBM i.

Soft Skills

• Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving skills in a live production support setting.
• Good written and verbal communication skills for ticket documentation, handovers, and team collaboration.
• Comfortable working independently in a remote-first delivery model.
• Reliable, responsive, and comfortable with support SLAs and on-call/rotation expectations if applicable.

Nice to Have

• Prior experience supporting public sector, financial services, or benefits administration systems.
• Experience working in a long-running AS400 production support/maintenance team (as opposed to net-new development).
• Familiarity with incident/ticketing tools (e.g., ServiceNow, ALM, Jira) used for support ticket tracking.

Location & Work Arrangement

• This role is remote-friendly; onsite presence is not required.
• Candidates based in or near Toronto are preferred, as occasional in-person collaboration with the delivery team may be arranged for those who are locally based and available.
• Canadian citizens or Permanent Residents are strongly preferred for this engagement, given the nature of the client and program.

Why Join Programmers.io

• Join a stable, ongoing production support engagement with a long-standing public sector client.
• Work alongside an experienced IBM i team supporting a well-established application environment.
• Steady, predictable work focused on support and enhancements rather than project-based delivery pressure.
• Flexible, remote-first working model with a collaborative, support-focused culture.