COBOL Developer

ACTIVE IRS MBI Clearance is a MUST.

Job Title: COBOL Developer (with Syncsort Experience)We are seeking an experienced COBOL Developer with strong Syncsort and mainframe batch-processing expertise to support IRS-related modernization, data processing, and legacy system enhancement projects. The ideal candidate will work on large-scale tax processing systems, batch workflows, and high-volume data transformation tasks.Key Responsibilities

• Develop, maintain, and enhance COBOL programs used in IRS-focused processing systems (batch and online).
• Design and update Syncsort jobs to handle large datasets, including sorting, merging, filtering, and record-level transformations.
• Write, test, and optimize JCL for execution of batch processes, including integration with COBOL modules and Syncsort utilities.
• Analyze data files (EBCDIC, fixed-width) and create efficient file layouts for COBOL and Syncsort processing.
• Participate in the modernization of legacy mainframe applications, including conversion, refactoring, and performance tuning.
• Troubleshoot production issues across COBOL modules, Syncsort steps, and JCL job streams.
• Interpret IRS business rules, tax-year logic, and processing requirements to implement accurate and compliant code changes.
• Collaborate with QA, business analysts, and project managers to support both planned releases and ad-hoc data correction cycles.
• Create and maintain technical documentation for COBOL programs, data layouts, and batch job dependencies.
• Support code migration through mainframe environments (DEV, TEST, QA, PROD).

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of COBOL development experience in a mainframe (z/OS) environment.
• Strong hands-on experience with Syncsort (SORT, MERGE, SUM, OUTREC, INREC, JOIN/SPLICE).
• Proficiency with JCL, VSAM, TSO/ISPF, SDSF, and IBM utilities.
• Experience working with large, complex batch processing pipelines.
• Ability to read and work with detailed functional specifications and translate them into COBOL logic.
• Strong debugging and problem-solving skills in a mainframe environment.
• Experience with fixed-length and variable-length data formats.
• Understanding of SDLC processes used in large government or enterprise environments.

Preferred Qualifications

• Previous experience supporting IRS, federal agencies, or tax-processing systems.
• Knowledge of CA7, Control-M, or other mainframe schedulers.
• Familiarity with DB2, CICS, or MQ (nice to have).
• Experience in modernization or mainframe-to-cloud migration projects.
• Public trust clearance (or eligibility for federal background investigation).
• Demonstrated success in client support
• Preferred qualifications and experience include Experience with IRS processing systems; experience with SQL, JCL, Batch processing.

Clearance Requirements as per contract/client:

• Candidates MUST have an active IRS Minimum Background Investigation (MBI) clearance.
• Candidates must be a US Citizen or a Legal Permanent Resident (Green Card status) for 3 years and be Federal Tax compliant.

Job Types: Full-time, Contract

Pay: From $70.00 per hour

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Retirement plan
• Tuition reimbursement
• Vision insurance

Application Question(s):

• Clearance Requirements:

Please confirm if you have an active IRS Moderate Risk MBI clearance (Required)?

Education:

• Bachelor's (Preferred)

Experience:

• COBOL: 7 years (Required)
• Syncsort: 7 years (Required)

Work Location: Remote