Technical Lead – Cobol Programmer

Custom Software Systems, Inc.

Technical Lead overseeing COBOL development for DRAS at DFAS with responsibilities in team guidance, coding standards, and production support.

Posted 4/26/2026contractRemote • Ohio • 🇺🇸 United StatesSeniorWebsite

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

SDLCSQL

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Serve as the senior technical point of contact for the DRAS PMO and DRAS System Manager on all software development and maintenance matters.
Establish and enforce coding standards, unit testing protocols, and peer review procedures consistent with DRAS SDLC documentation and DFAS business processes.
Lead technical participation in System Requirements Reviews (SRRs), Critical Design Reviews (CDRs), Test Readiness Reviews (TRRs), and Post-Implementation Reviews (PIRs).
Provide technical mentorship and guidance to the five (5) Journeyman Computer Programmers; assign tasks, review work products, and ensure consistent quality.
Prepare and review system change specifications, design documents, and technical system documentation; identify and resolve discrepancies or inaccuracies.
Review and analyze System Change Requests (SCRs), point papers from R&A Operations, email requests, and meeting action items.
Lead preparation of written impact analyses for proposed changes, identifying all affected system components and producing Level of Effort (LOE) estimates accurate to +/- 15% of actuals.
Coordinate all impact analysis responses with the DRAS System Manager prior to submission.
Produce COBOL code and associated Job Control Language (JCL) for z/OS mainframe systems meeting SCR specifications and DRAS design document requirements, free of defects.
Develop in COBOL for z/OS 2.1, CICS, ADS-Online, ADS-Batch, MQ Series, and SQL; utilize VSAM, IDMS, and DB2 as required.
Ensure all developed software meets industry best practices, DRAS-defined business processes, and DFAS CMM Level 3 standards.
Lead code walkthroughs to ensure all defects are identified prior to production turnover.
Coordinate and facilitate Peer Review meetings; present technical findings on defects, code efficiency, and conformance with coding standards.
Verify completion of all required testing plans and results prior to approving code turnover.
Ensure at least 95% of Customer Acceptance Testing (CAT) test cases pass without defects prior to production release.
Move approved code into designated staging areas and notify appropriate DFAS parties when code is production-ready.
Provide direct production support to resolve payroll processing issues affecting RCPS, APS, and CRSC subsystems.
Lead root cause analysis and resolution for production anomalies; document 100% of reported situations in accordance with DFAS business processes.
Monitor production performance and production job execution; proactively identify and escalate emerging issues.
Participate in ad hoc user meetings as needed to support application issue resolution.
Lead the team's participation in the DRAS Agile transformation effort; attend DFAS-sponsored Agile Boot Camp training and meet defined maturity expectations.
Execute data queries to support detailed requirements reviews and identify relevant data conditions.
Comply with DFAS-defined timeframes for program analysis, programming, unit testing, and pre-implementation support.
Maintain 95% monthly attendance at required team meetings; ensure team adherence to meeting participation requirements.

Requirements

What you’ll need

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or related technical field; or equivalent combination of education and directly applicable experience.
Minimum 8 years of hands-on IBM mainframe development experience, including at least 5 years in a technical lead or senior developer capacity.
Expert-level proficiency in COBOL for z/OS, CICS, and JCL; strong working knowledge of VSAM, DB2, and IDMS.
Experience with z/OS 2.1, TSO/ROSCOE, CA Librarian, CA-View/DocView, Control-M, and related mainframe tools.
Demonstrated experience conducting peer reviews, code walkthroughs, and leading structured software development teams.
Prior experience supporting DoD payroll or financial management systems preferred; DRAS/RCPS/APS experience highly preferred.
Active or adjudicable Tier 3 / Noncritical-Sensitive (IT-II) background investigation.
Must be a U.S. citizen; males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered with Selective Service.

Benefits

Comp & perks

Must be available outside standard core hours (nights/weekends) when mission needs dictate, as coordinated with the COR.
All work performed on Government-Furnished Equipment (GFE); use of personally-owned devices for government information is prohibited.
Foreign travel requires DFAS Form 9133 submission not less than 30 days prior to departure.

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

COBOLz/OSCICSJCLVSAMDB2IDMSSQLAgileunit testing

Soft Skills

technical mentorshipleadershipcommunicationproblem-solvingcollaborationattention to detailanalytical thinkingtime managementorganizational skillsfacilitation

Certifications

Bachelor's degree in Computer ScienceTier 3 / Noncritical-Sensitive background investigation