Mainframe Developer – Defence Program

Location: Melbourne (Laverton), Canberra
Work Arrangement: Hybrid
Engagement: Major Defence Program
Security Requirement: Australian Citizenship mandatory. Current or reinstatable Australian Government security clearance highly regarded.

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced Mainframe Developer to support a significant Defence program operating within a complex, secure technology environment.

This role will suit a hands-on developer with strong mainframe application development experience, solid analytical capability, and experience supporting business-critical systems in structured, highly controlled environments.

As a Mainframe Developer, you will contribute to the development, enhancement and sustainment of key Defence applications, working across legacy technologies, batch processing environments and integrated systems.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop, maintain and enhance mainframe applications supporting Defence capability.
• Perform application and software development activities across the full development lifecycle.
• Support reliable batch processing and scheduled workloads within secure environments.
• Analyse technical and functional requirements and contribute to solution design.
• Troubleshoot application issues, identify root causes and implement effective fixes.
• Support code changes, defect resolution, testing and deployment activities.
• Work closely with technical leads, architects, testers and other delivery teams.
• Contribute to system integration activities across legacy and downstream platforms.
• Produce and maintain technical documentation, including design, testing and as-built documentation.
• Work within established Defence change, release, configuration and security processes.
• Support transition and knowledge transfer activities into ongoing sustainment teams.

Skills and Experience

To be successful in this role, you will bring:

• Strong experience in mainframe application development.
• Hands-on experience with COBOL.
• Experience working with DB2, SQL, C# or C++ highly regarded.
• Strong understanding of batch processing environments.
• Experience maintaining and enhancing complex legacy applications.
• Strong debugging, troubleshooting and root-cause analysis capability.
• Experience supporting integration between mainframe and other enterprise systems.
• Experience working through structured testing processes, including system and integration testing.
• Ability to work effectively in secure, highly governed project environments.
• Strong technical documentation and communication skills.
• Defence, National Security or Federal Government experience highly desirable.

Security Requirements

Due to the sensitive nature of the Defence environment, candidates must be Australian Citizens and be eligible to obtain and maintain an Australian Government security clearance.

Candidates who currently hold a Baseline, NV1 or higher clearance will be highly regarded.

Work Location

The role can be based in Melbourne, Canberra or Brisbane, with a hybrid working arrangement of 3 days in the office and 2 days working from home.

Apply Now

If you are an experienced Mainframe Developer looking to contribute to a significant Defence program, we would welcome your application.

For further information, contact Luther Borgas at luther.borgas@outbacktalent.com.