Financial Services Lead Mainframe Expert

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced Mainframe Expert to join a multidisciplinary team supporting strategic transformation initiatives in the financial services sector.

In this role, you will combine strong technical expertise with analytical capabilities to support decision-making around the modernization and optimization of critical mainframe systems. You will act as a trusted advisor within the project team, contributing to both technical analysis and implementation activities.

The project focuses on evaluating the future of existing mainframe environments and determining the optimal evolution strategy, including modernization, hybrid architectures, or cloud integration.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, maintain and optimize mainframe-based applications

• Work with technologies such as PL/1, COBOL, JCL and DB2

• Support requirement engineering, solution design and preparation of use cases

• Prepare and execute unit, system and end-to-end testing scenarios

• Investigate and resolve batch processing issues, incidents and performance bottlenecks

• Perform data extraction, SQL optimization and large-scale data updates

• Collaborate with global teams across business, functional and technical areas

• Participate in mainframe modernization and optimization initiatives

• Ensure high-quality documentation and engineering standards

• Contribute to knowledge sharing and process improvement initiatives

Required Skills & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, IT, or a related field

• 5–7+ years of experience in mainframe development or operations

• Strong hands-on experience with:

  • COBOL and/or PL/1

  • JCL

  • DB2 SQL

• Experience with batch processing tools such as Control-M, Tivoli Workload Scheduler (TWS/IWS)

• Experience working with critical banking or tax systems

• Strong troubleshooting and performance optimization skills

• Experience working in distributed or international teams

• Fluent English (C1)

Nice to Have

• Knowledge of REXX, IMS, MQ, CICS

• Experience with tools such as ChangeMan, RDz/IDz

• Exposure to modernization initiatives or hybrid architectures

• Understanding of RACF and mainframe security practices

• Certifications such as ITIL, IBM z/OS fundamentals