Lead Developer – Mainframe

Cognizant; Dallas (TX); Hybrid; USD 65,000 - 117,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical coverage

Paid holidays

401(k) plan

Disability insurance

Parental leave

Employee stock purchase

Job summary

Cognizant is seeking a Lead Developer – Mainframe to design, develop, and optimize enterprise-scale mainframe applications for Cards and Payments. The role demands strong COBOL, DB2, VSAM, and JCL skills and a track record of delivering high-performance financial systems.

The position is hybrid, requiring 3 days per week in a Cognizant office in Dallas, TX, with emphasis on system stability, lifecycle leadership, and continuous improvement in a client-facing environment.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of hands-on experience in Mainframe application development within large-scale financial or transaction processing environments.
• Strong expertise in COBOL, DB2, VSAM, and JCL, including performance tuning, batch processing, and database optimization.
• Proven experience supporting Cards and Payments systems, including transaction processing, authorization, clearing, settlement, and dispute management.
• Strong troubleshooting, debugging, and root-cause analysis skills with the ability to provide sustainable solutions for production issues.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, and enhancement of mainframe applications using COBOL, DB2, VSAM, and JCL for large-scale financial transaction processing systems.
• Analyze business requirements and translate them into scalable technical solutions that improve transaction accuracy, system performance, and operational efficiency.
• Design and optimize batch and online processing components supporting high-volume Cards and Payments transactions.
• Review and enhance existing application architecture, COBOL programs, DB2 queries, and VSAM file structures to improve maintainability and performance.
• Develop and maintain efficient JCL processes, including job scheduling, recovery mechanisms, error handling, and performance optimization.

Skills

COBOL

DB2

VSAM

JCL

Job description

We are seeking a highly skilled Lead Developer – Mainframe to design, develop, and optimize enterprise-scale mainframe applications supporting critical Cards and Payments platforms. The ideal candidate will possess strong expertise in COBOL, DB2, VSAM, and JCL, with a proven track record of delivering high-performance, resilient financial systems. This role will be responsible for leading the development lifecycle, enhancing transaction processing capabilities, ensuring system stability, and driving continuous improvements within a hybrid work environment.

In This Role, You Will

• Lead the design, development, and enhancement of mainframe applications using COBOL, DB2, VSAM, and JCL for large-scale financial transaction processing systems.
• Analyze business requirements and translate them into scalable technical solutions that improve transaction accuracy, system performance, and operational efficiency.
• Design and optimize batch and online processing components supporting high-volume Cards and Payments transactions.
• Review and enhance existing application architecture, COBOL programs, DB2 queries, and VSAM file structures to improve maintainability and performance.
• Develop and maintain efficient JCL processes, including job scheduling, recovery mechanisms, error handling, and performance optimization.

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 a week in a client or Cognizant office in Dallas, TX. 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 are accurate as of the date of posting. These may change based on the project you are engaged in, as well as evolving business and client requirements. We will always be transparent about role expectations.

What You Need To Have To Be Considered

• 8+ years of hands-on experience in Mainframe application development within large-scale financial or transaction processing environments.
• Strong expertise in COBOL, DB2, VSAM, and JCL, including performance tuning, batch processing, and database optimization.
• Proven experience supporting Cards and Payments systems, including transaction processing, authorization, clearing, settlement, and dispute management.
• Strong troubleshooting, debugging, and root-cause analysis skills with the ability to provide sustainable solutions for production issues.

Salary And Other Compensation

The annual salary for this position is between $ 65447 to $ 117000 depending on experience and other qualifications of the successful candidate. This position is also eligible for Cognizant's discretionary annual incentive program, based on performance and subject to the terms of Cognizant's applicable plans.

Benefits:

• Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance
• Paid holidays plus Paid Time Off
• 401(k) plan and contributions
• Long-term/Short-term Disability
• Paid Parental Leave
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Disclaimer: The salary, other compensation, and benefits information is accurate as of the date of this posting. Cognizant reserves the right to modify this information at any time, subject to applicable law.