COBOL Modernisation Lead

About the role

We are seeking an exceptional COBOL Modernisation Lead to drive the transformation of critical legacy mainframe applications into a modern cloud‑native architecture. This senior technology leader will oversee planning, execution, governance and delivery of a strategic programme migrating COBOL and PL/1 applications to Java and cloud platforms.

Key responsibilities

• Lead enterprise‑wide COBOL and mainframe modernisation initiatives, defining migration strategies and managing risks.
• Coordinate architecture, development, infrastructure, testing and business teams to deliver cloud‑based solutions.
• Guide Agile feature teams, facilitate sprint ceremonies and remove delivery impediments.
• Review and influence solution architecture, ensuring compliance with cloud, security and scalability standards.
• Engage with product owners, architects, vendors and leadership to communicate progress and align with governance.

Required profile

• 10+ years of experience in software development, enterprise technology or application modernisation.
• Proven track record leading COBOL modernisation or mainframe transformation programmes.
• Strong Agile delivery leadership and experience managing technical teams.
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management and governance skills.

Required skills

• COBOL, PL/1, DB2, IMS
• AWS, Azure, Cloud‑Native and Serverless technologies (AWS Lambda)
• Java, J2EE, Spring Framework, Spring Boot
• DevOps, CI/CD, Docker, Kubernetes, OpenShift
• Kafka, Event‑Driven and API integration (Pub/Sub)
• Jira, Confluence, X‑Ray, Bitbucket