Sr Mainframe Developer

*CLIENT INTERVIEW WILL BE IN-PERSON**Mainframe - CICS IS A MANDATORY SKILL*Job title: Sr Mainframe DeveloperLocation: Jersey City, NJ (Onsite)Term: ContractJob Description:Design, develop, test, and maintain mission-critical banking applications using COBOL, CICS, JCL, DB2, and VSAMBuild and support CICS online transactions for core banking functions such as account management, fund transfers, and loan processingWrite and tune DB2 SQL queries, stored procedures, and perform explain plan analysis for high-volume financial dataCreate, maintain, and troubleshoot JCL batch jobs supporting end-of-day, end-of-month, and regulatory reporting cycles ·Diagnose and resolve production issues, system failures, and performance bottlenecks in a zero-downtime banking environmentConduct code reviews, enforce coding standards, and mentor junior developersCollaborate with business analysts, architects, and compliance teams across the full SDLC — from requirements to deploymentSupport mainframe modernization initiatives including integration with digital banking platforms and REST APIsEnsure all development adheres to banking regulations, audit controls, and security standards (SOX, PCI-DSS, FFIEC)Maintain thorough technical documentation including design specs, runbooks, and change management recordsJob Requirements:10+ years of hands-on IBM mainframe development experience, preferably in banking or financial servicesExpert-level proficiency in COBOL and CICS transaction programmingStrong command of JCL, z/OS utilities (SORT, IDCAMS, IEBGENER), and batch processingDeep knowledge of DB2 — SQL optimization, bind/rebind, and performance tuning for large financial datasetsSolid experience with VSAM file structures and access methods · Familiarity with REXX/CLIST scripting for automation ·Understanding of banking domain concepts — core banking, payments (ACH, SWIFT, Fedwire), GL, and reconciliationExposure to mainframe-to-distributed integration (MQ, APIs, Web Services) is a plusKnowledge of DevOps for mainframe tools like Zowe, IDz, or DBB is highly desirableYears of experience required: 8-10