Mainframe Application Developer

Knowledge Services is seeking a remote Mainframe Application Developer for a 12-month contract (potential for extension) with the State of North Dakota Department of Information Technology.

• Work Location: 100% remote
• Applicants with prior state government experience are strongly preferred

Mainframe Application Developer Responsibilities:

• 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 is a subject matter expert using Natural programming languages with recent relevant experience.

• Will be asked to translate business requirements into practical technical solutions, produces clear documentation, collaborates in Agile teams, and participates in a shared on-call rotation.

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).

Mainframe Application Developer Experience:

• 5+ years of mainframe development in enterprise settings (or equivalent).

• 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.

• 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.

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