Lead Software Engineer - COBOL, JCL, DB2

We have an exciting and rewarding opportunity for you to take your software engineering career to the next level. 

As a Lead Software Engineer at JPMorgan Chase within the Commercial & Investment Bank’s Broker Dealer Platform team, you serve as a seasoned member of an agile team to design and deliver trusted market-leading technology products in a secure, stable, and scalable way. You are responsible for carrying out critical technology solutions across multiple technical areas within various business functions in support of the firm’s business objectives.

 Job responsibilities

• Define and execute the mainframe technology strategy in alignment with business objectives and the broader Broker Dealer Platform vision.

• Lead the design, with hands-on development, and implementation of mainframe solutions that support business objectives and operational needs.

• Serve as the primary liaison between technology and business teams, ensuring mainframe solutions address critical business needs and drive value.

• Oversee the delivery of mainframe projects and services, ensuring quality, timeliness, and alignment with business priorities.

• Drives team adoption of enterprise-authorized AI-assisted engineering practices within the work environment to improve code quality, delivery speed, and operational outcomes (e.g., AI-assisted code review/refactoring, test strategy acceleration, incident/root-cause analysis support), while establishing consistent validation standards (secure coding, peer review, automated testing) and promoting reuse of effective patterns across the team.

• Applies knowledge of tools within the Software Development Life Cycle toolchain, including enterprise-authorized AI-assisted development and automation capabilities, to improve the value realized by automation.

• Leverage deep business knowledge to identify opportunities for process automation and operational efficiency and STP improvements across mainframe-supported functions.

• All mainframe activities must operate under stringent controls and oversight to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, organizational policies, and risk management standards.

• Build and maintain strong relationships with senior business leaders, influencing decision-making and advocating for technology-driven business solutions.

• Drive modernization initiatives, including mainframe-to-cloud migration, data integration with distributed platforms, and adoption of hands-on experience in usage of AI in everyday work.

 Required qualifications, capabilities, and skills

• Formal training or certification on software engineering concepts and 5+ years applied experience

• Minimum 10 years of experience with hands-on development in mainframe technologies (COBOL, JCL, DB2, CICS, VSAM, MQ, etc.), with at least 3 years in a leadership role.

• Demonstrated, comprehensive business knowledge and experience partnering with senior business stakeholders.

• Deep understanding of Post Trade business (Trade Processing, Settlements/Book keeping/ Statements/ Product & Pricing and Accounting concepts)

• Demonstrated experience leading effective use of approved AI-assisted software development tools (e.g., for coding, code review, test acceleration, troubleshooting) with the ability to set team expectations for validating AI outputs for correctness, performance, and security.

• Strong understanding of responsible AI use in engineering workflows, including data sensitivity considerations, secure handling of inputs/outputs, and adherence to resiliency and security expectations; experience coaching engineers on safe, compliant adoption within delivery practices

• Proven track record of leading large-scale mainframe initiatives and delivering business value.

• Strong strategic thinking, leadership, and communication skills.

• Understanding of risk, compliance, and regulatory requirements in the financial services industry.

•  Usage of AI tools (Github Co-pilot, IBM Watson X or equivalent tools) in the software development life cycle.

 Preferred qualifications, capabilities, and skills

• Distributed and Cloud technology (AWS, Azure) exposure would be a plus.

• Experience with mainframe modernization, data integration, and digital transformation is highly desirable.