Lead Developer – Mainframe

About the role

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.

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.

Requirements

• 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.

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

Pay

The annual salary for this position is between $65,447 to $117,000 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.

Schedule

This is a hybrid position requiring 3 days a week in a client or Cognizant office in Dallas, TX. Cognizant supports a healthy work-life balance through various wellbeing programs. Working arrangements are accurate as of the date of posting and may change based on project engagement and evolving business/client requirements; transparency about role expectations will be maintained.