Mainframe Application Developer

Knowledge Services is seeking a remote Mainframe Application Developer for a 12-month contract supporting the State of North Dakota Department of Information Technology.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, test, and support enhancements to existing mainframe applications used across State of North Dakota programs
• Perform primarily hands-on development using COBOL and Natural, with JCL and databases including ADABAS and DB2 (Oracle familiarity is a plus)
• Translate business requirements into technical solutions and produce clear documentation
• Analyze requirements and create practical technical designs for moderate to complex changes within established patterns and standards
• Create and update design documentation such as program specs, data mappings, and flow diagrams; walk through with stakeholders for approval
• Recommend incremental improvements aligned with existing architecture (not responsible for enterprise architecture)
• 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 execute unit, system, and acceptance testing; document results
• Participate in peer code reviews and apply feedback to improve code quality
• Maintain runbooks, deployment notes, and solution documentation
• Provide production support via a rotational 24x7 on-call model, including root-cause analysis and implementation of fixes
• Provide time and effort estimates for assigned work items and small enhancements; assist with estimates for moderate projects
• Participate in Agile ceremonies (stand-ups, planning, reviews, retros)
• Document tickets, decisions, and work acceptance in team tools
• Informally mentor peers on standards and procedures as needed (no formal people leadership)

Requirements

• 5+ years of mainframe development in enterprise settings (or equivalent)
• Proficiency in COBOL for maintenance and net-new development
• Proficiency in Natural for maintenance and net-new development
• Strong working knowledge of JCL (batch authoring, scheduling handoff, troubleshooting)
• Experience with ADABAS and DB2 (queries, data analysis, basic performance understanding)
• Familiarity with Oracle concepts and SQL tooling (for example, PL/SQL Developer or equivalent)
• Comfortable using tools such as QMF and Visio (or equivalents) for data and design work
• Solid testing discipline and defect management
• Strong technical writing skills (design docs, runbooks, change notes)
• Ability to explain technical concepts clearly to non-technical stakeholders
• Detail-oriented, organized, and dependable follow-through

Technologies

• COBOL, Natural, JCL
• ADABAS, DB2
• Oracle, SQL, PL/SQL Developer
• QMF, Visio
• Agile

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

Location and Employment

• Location: Bismarck, ND (100% remote)
• Job type: Contract
• Contract length: 12 months (potential for extension)