Senior Mainframe Developer

Job Summary
Our client, a leading financial and life insurance provider, is seeking a Senior Mainframe Developer to join their team.  

This position is W-2 only. We do not work with third-party firms or C2C arrangements for this role.

Contract Details

• Type: Full time/Direct Hire
• Location: Cincinnati, OH
• Work Arrangement: Onsite

Core Responsibilities 

• Legacy: Mainframe CICS, APS, IMS, VSAM and JCL
• New: Mainframe COBOL w/ MicroFocus, Web UI, DB2, zOS Connect, IBM MQ Docker, GIT, Maven, Jenkins, JIRA
• Familiarity with JavaScript or TypeScript (Angular), jQuery, AJAX, HTML, CSS; Java and Spring
• Owns enterprise-level architecture for large-scale, mainframe-based business applications and establishes the technical blueprint for their continuous modernization and evolution
• Provides technical oversight and architectural direction for a team of 15–20 software engineers delivering complex application changes and modernization initiatives
• Ensures engineering teams consistently apply established design patterns, architecture principles, development standards, security practices, and software engineering best practices
• Provides technical leadership and hands-on development direction for complex legacy COBOL applications supporting critical business functions, including product configuration, billing, collections, servicing, claims, and other high-volume transactional processes
• Oversees integrations between core mainframe applications and downstream enterprise systems, including workflow, document generation, financial systems, data platforms, external services, and other enterprise applications
• Develops and executes a modernization roadmap for large-scale mainframe applications, transitioning highly batch-oriented legacy processing toward real-time, API-enabled and digitally accessible capabilities
• Evaluates, selects, and introduces modern technologies and architectural patterns to extend and modernize legacy platforms, including DB2 modernization, CICS transformation, web-based user interfaces, mainframe APIs, messaging, enterprise integration, and service-oriented architectures
• Leads the evolution of legacy applications while balancing modernization, operational stability, scalability, performance, security, and total cost of ownership
• Provides hands-on technical leadership across application architecture, software development, data engineering, system integration, discovery, data modeling, and technical solution design
• Guides engineers through complex technical problems and actively participates in design, development, code reviews, troubleshooting, and implementation as needed
• Manages and prioritizes product and sprint backlogs while providing technical direction to ensure timely delivery of high-value software changes
• Establishes and continuously improves agile engineering practices, fostering a culture of accountability, innovation, continuous improvement, and high-velocity delivery

Required Skills/Experience (Must-Haves) 

• 15+ years of software engineering and technology change management experience, including 10+ years in technical leadership roles with experience communicating with senior and executive-level stakeholders
• 7+ years of experience leading teams of COBOL/mainframe software engineers across both Agile/Scrum and traditional waterfall delivery environments
• Extensive experience architecting, developing, modernizing, and supporting large-scale enterprise mainframe applications
• Demonstrated ability to simplify complex technology and application modernization initiatives while minimizing long-term technical debt and total cost of ownership
• Strong background leading modernization of legacy mainframe environments into more real-time, API-enabled, service-oriented, and web-accessible architectures
• Strong Agile mindset with demonstrated experience in continuous integration, iterative delivery, backlog management, and continuous improvement
• Proven ability to operate autonomously while providing effective technical leadership and building strong relationships across all levels of an organization
• Demonstrated experience leading large-scale software engineering teams through significant technology transformation and organizational change

Work Environment 

• Location: Cincinnati, OH
• Work Arrangement: Onsite

Compensation & Benefits 

• Pay Range: The approximate pay range for this position is between $84,000 and $120,000. Please note that the pay range provided is a good faith estimate. Final compensation may vary based on factors including but not limited to background, knowledge, skills, and location. We comply with local wage minimums.
• Medical, Dental, & Vision Insurance Plans
• Employee-Owned Profit Sharing (ESOP)
• 401K offered

About KellyMitchell 
At KellyMitchell, our culture is world class. We’re movers and shakers! We don’t mind a bit of friendly competition, and we reward hard work with unlimited potential for growth. This is an exciting opportunity to join a company known for innovative solutions and unsurpassed customer service. We're passionate about helping companies solve their biggest IT staffing & project solutions challenges. As an employee-owned, women-led organization serving Fortune 500 companies nationwide, we deliver expert service at a moment's notice. 

Marketing Disclosure 
By applying for this job, you agree to receive calls, AI-generated calls, text messages, or emails from KellyMitchell and its affiliates, and contracted partners. Frequency varies for text messages. Message and data rates may apply. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages. You can reply STOP to cancel and HELP for help. You can access our privacy policy at https://www.careers.kellymitchell.com/privacy-policy.

[143314]