Mainframe Developer
Position: Mainframe Developer
Duration: 12 MonthsAgency: ITS
Job ID: 167436
Client: State of North Dakota
Location: Bismark, ND (Remote)
Job Description:
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 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 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).
Required /Desired Skills:
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. Communication & Delivery 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. Experience 5+ years of mainframe development in enterprise settings (or equivalent).
Preferred Skills:
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.
Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field