Mainframe Application Development Jobs in Illinois

Position Summary

We are seeking a highly skilled Senior NOMAD/Mainframe Developer, a high-performing team responsible for supporting and modernizing mission-critical Human Resources applications for the State of Illinois

This position will play a key role in the migration of three major legacy applications currently operating in a NOMAD environment. The successful candidate will help evaluate, design, and execute migration strategies to move these applications either to a NOMAD-based MVS environment or directly to an MVS platform while ensuring uninterrupted support for critical HR and Timekeeping functions used by 5,000–7,000 employees statewide.

This is a highly visible position requiring strong technical expertise, business interaction skills, and the ability to collaborate across Mainframe, MVS, and business teams.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is a hands-on NOMAD developer who understands legacy mainframe technologies, enjoys solving complex business problems, and is excited by the challenge of helping move critical applications to the next generation of the enterprise platform. The individual thrives in a collaborative environment, possesses strong communication skills, and can effectively bridge the gap between technical teams and business stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

• Support, enhance, and maintain mission-critical HR and Timekeeping applications running in a NOMAD/Mainframe environment.
• Participate in the assessment, planning, and execution of migration efforts from the current NOMAD platform to MVS-based environments.
• Analyze existing NOMAD applications, data structures, business rules, and dependencies.
• Design and develop solutions supporting modernization and migration initiatives.
• Work closely with business stakeholders, HR teams, payroll personnel, and operational users to gather requirements and address production issues.
• Troubleshoot application, database, batch, and interface issues within NOMAD and MVS environments.
• Develop and maintain technical documentation, data mappings, and migration artifacts.
• Support system testing, integration testing, user acceptance testing, and production deployments.
• Participate in code reviews, knowledge transfer activities, and application support rotations.
• Collaborate with senior developers and cross-functional technical teams to ensure successful project delivery.

The team supports both NOMAD and MVS platforms and works closely with business users across the department.

Required QualificationsTechnical Skills

• 5+ years of experience developing and supporting NOMAD applications.
• Strong knowledge of NOMAD database structures, dictionaries, attributes, segments, and reporting capabilities.
• Experience with NOMAD commands, queries, screens, reports, and application development.
• Extensive Mainframe development experience.
• Experience working within MVS/zOS environments.
• Strong understanding of batch processing, JCL, and job scheduling.
• Experience with data migration and legacy application modernization initiatives.
• Knowledge of database design, data analysis, and application troubleshooting.
• Experience supporting large enterprise business applications.

Business & Communication Skills

• Ability to communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Experience working directly with business users to gather requirements and resolve issues.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work independently in a small team environment.
• Experience supporting production-critical systems with high visibility.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting Human Resources, Payroll, Benefits, or Timekeeping systems.
• Experience working within government organizations or large public-sector environments.
• Knowledge of employee lifecycle processes and workforce management systems.
• Experience participating in platform migration or data conversion projects.
• Familiarity with legacy system modernization strategies.