Mainframe Application Developer
Knowledge Services is seeking a remote Mainframe Application Developer for a 12-month contract (potential for extension) with the State of North Dakota Department of Information Technology.
Work Location: 100% remote
Applicants with prior state government experience are strongly preferred
Mainframe Application Developer Responsibilities:
- The Mainframe Developer will design, develop, test, and support enhancements to existing mainframe applications used across State of North Dakota programs.
- 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 is a subject matter expert using Natural programming languages with recent relevant experience.
- Will be asked to translate business requirements into practical technical solutions, produces clear documentation, collaborates in Agile teams, and participates in a shared on-call rotation. 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 24×7 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).Mainframe Application Developer Experience:
- 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.
- Solid testing discipline and defect management.
- Strong technical writing (design docs, runbooks, change notes).
- Ability to explain technical concepts clearly to non-technical stakeholders.
- Detail-oriented, organized, and dependable follow-through.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience with Natural/ADABAS in public sector or large enterprise environments.
- 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).
- Prior participation in rotational on-call support.
- Informal mentorship or focal-point experience.
- State government or regulated industry experience.
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field