Application Developer - Mainframe

Prominent; United States; Remote; USD 73,000 - 81,000; Full time

Job summary

Prominent is seeking a Senior Mainframe Developer with COBOL and Natural to design, develop, test, and support enhancements to existing mainframe applications. The role is hands-on with COBOL, Natural, JCL and databases like ADABAS and DB2, with Oracle familiarity a plus.

You will work in Agile teams and participate in a shared on-call rotation. The ideal candidate translates business requirements into practical technical solutions, produces clear documentation, and collaborates across teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field.
• 5+ years of mainframe development in enterprise settings.
• Proficient in COBOL and Natural maintenance and development.
• Strong JCL knowledge for batch processes and troubleshooting.
• Experience with ADABAS and DB2; familiarity with Oracle concepts and SQL tooling.

Responsibilities

• Technical analysis and design for mid-to-senior scope changes.
• Create design docs, data mappings, and flow diagrams for approvals.
• Develop and maintain COBOL and Natural programs; troubleshoot JCL.
• Build and run unit, system, and acceptance tests; document results.
• Provide production support in a 24x7 on-call rotation; root-cause analysis.
• Participate in Agile ceremonies; estimate work items; mentor peers.

Skills

COBOL

Natural

JCL

ADABAS

DB2

Oracle SQL

PL/SQL

QMF

Visio

Endevor

ChangeMan

ISPW

Control-M

CA-7

TWS

MQ

CI/CD

Agile

Tech Writing

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

ADABAS

DB2

Oracle

JCL

MQSeries

Endevor

Job description

No visa sponsorship is available for this opportunity!

C2C or 1099 not available for this opportunity!

Candidates MUST be on Prominent payroll as a W2 during the contract phase.

Prominent is looking for a Mainframe Developer with Cobol and Natural experience for a REMOTE long term contract. The Mainframe Developer will design, develop, test, and support enhancements to existing mainframe applications. The role is primarily hands-on development with COBOL, Natural, JCL, and databases such as ADABAS and DB2 (Oracle familiarity is a plus). The ideal candidate translates business requirements into practical technical solutions, produces clear documentation, collaborates in Agile teams, and participates in a shared on‑call rotation.

Responsibilities

Technical Analysis & Design (mid-to-senior scope)

• Analyze requirements and produce practical technical designs for moderate to complex changes within established patterns/standards.
• Create and update design documentation (program specs, data mappings, flow diagrams) and walk through with stakeholders for approval.
• Recommend incremental improvements that align with existing architecture (no enterprise architecture ownership).

Coding & Configuration

• Develop and maintain programs using COBOL and/or Natural.
• Author and troubleshoot JCL for batch processes, job streams, and error handling.
• Build test scenarios and perform unit, system, and acceptance testing; document results.
• Participate in peer code reviews and apply feedback to improve quality.
• Maintain runbooks, deployment notes, and solution documentation.
• Provide production support in a rotational 24x7 on‑call model; perform root‑cause analysis and implement fixes.

Project & Team Collaboration

• Provide time and effort estimates for assigned work items and small enhancements; assist on estimates for moderate projects.
• Actively participate in Agile ceremonies (stand-ups, planning, reviews, retros).
• Document tickets, decisions, and work acceptance in team tools.
• Mentor peers informally on standards and procedures as needed (no formal people leadership).

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field
• 5+ years of mainframe development in enterprise settings (or equivalent).
• Proficient in COBOL (maintenance and net‑new development).
• Proficient in Natural (maintenance and net‑new development).
• Strong working knowledge of JCL (batch authoring, scheduling handoff, troubleshooting).
• Experience with ADABAS and DB2 (queries, data analysis, understanding of performance basics).
• Familiarity with Oracle concepts and SQL tooling (e.g., PL/SQL Developer or equivalent).
• Comfortable with tools such as QMF, Visio (or equivalents) for data and design work.
• Exposure to mainframe CI/CD and change tools (e.g., Endevor, ChangeMan, ISPW).
• Familiarity with job scheduling platforms (Control-M, CA-7, TWS).
• Integration experience (e.g., MQ, file‑based interfaces, service layers).
• Solid testing discipline and defect management.
• Strong technical writing (design docs, runbooks, change notes).

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Natural/ADABAS in public sector or large enterprise environments.
• Prior participation in rotational on‑call support.
• Informal mentorship or focal‑point experience.
• State government or regulated industry experience.

Anticipated hourly rate while on contract is expected to be in the $53-59hr range.