Mainframe Analyst

Mainframe Analyst

Location: Toronto, ON — Hybrid

Job Type: Contract

Work Hours: EST-Business Hours: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM

On-Call Support: 6:00 PM – 11:00 PM (Mon–Sat) | All day Sunday

Support Model: 24x7 production support alongside offshore team (India)

⚠ Availability Notice: Candidates must be available for on-call support from 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM Monday to Saturday, and all day Sunday. This is a 24x7 production support role operating on a shift roster with an India-based team.

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced Mainframe Analyst to provide production support and development services for a business-critical application. The successful candidate will work within a shift-based model alongside an offshore delivery team in India, ensuring seamless handovers, continuous system availability, and high-quality technical delivery. The role demands strong mainframe programming expertise, analytical capability, and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, high-availability environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide 24x7 production support for a business-critical mainframe application during assigned shift hours
• Develop, maintain, and enhance mainframe applications using COBOL, PL1, DB2, VSAM, CICS, JCL, and EASYPLUS
• Manage shift handovers and ongoing communication with the offshore delivery team in India
• Analyse business requirements from consultants and convert them into technical designs and developed code
• Support all phases of the SDLC lifecycle, from requirements through to deployment and post-production support
• Troubleshoot and resolve production incidents efficiently, applying strong problem-solving skills
• Collaborate across multiple teams to ensure end-to-end project completeness
• Apply Waterfall and Agile methodologies as required by the project and delivery context

Mandatory Skills

• COBOL, PL1, DB2, VSAM, CICS, JCL — strong hands-on programming proficiency
• EASYPLUS — experience in mainframe report and data handling
• Eztrieve — experience in data extraction and reporting on mainframe
• Ability to manage discussions and shift handovers with offshore team members effectively
• Strong SDLC knowledge across all phases in both Waterfall and Agile environments
• Excellent technical, analytical, communication, and interpersonal skills
• Proven ability to face new challenges and implement new skills efficiently in the workplace

Nice-to-Have Skills

• FOCUS — reporting tool experience is an added advantage
• Mainframe tools: ISPW, XPEDITOR, ESP Scheduling, SPUFI, STAR, ServiceNow
• Domain knowledge in Canadian Mutual Funds and Term Investment processes
• Experience with collaborative development tools such as JIRA and Confluence

What We're Looking For

• Self-sufficient professional comfortable working in a shift-based, high-availability support environment
• Strong communicator capable of coordinating seamlessly with onshore and offshore teams
• Detail-oriented analyst who can translate complex business requirements into mainframe solutions
• Someone who takes ownership of production issues and drives them to resolution with minimal supervision

This is a 24x7 on-call production support role. Candidates must be fully available during all stipulated hours including evenings and Sundays before applying.