Software Engineer (Mainframe)

Sun Life Financial, Inc.

$65K — $105K *
Information Technology
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 3-5 years of mainframe application development experience
  • Working knowledge of zOS / OS/390 environments
  • Experience with TSO/ISPF, DB2, IMS, JCL, and COBOL
  • Understanding of MQ and middleware concepts
  • Strong problem-solving and communication skills
  • Familiarity with Git, Bitbucket, Jenkins, and zDevOps is a plus
  • Experience with agile methodologies is an asset
  • Bilingualism in French and English required for Quebec role

Responsibilities

  • Break down application requirements into scoped work items
  • Design and develop mainframe applications under senior engineers' guidance
  • Identify and communicate risks early to protect delivery timelines
  • Make sound technical decisions for maintainability
  • Contribute to the reliability and evolvability of existing systems
  • Participate in end-to-end application development using modern mainframe tools
  • Write production-quality COBOL code with documentation

Benefits

  • Opportunity to contribute to systems that support client well-being
  • Collaborative and inclusive engineering culture
  • Ongoing learning through coaching and hands-on experience
  • Access to modern development tooling and a supportive team environment
  • Hybrid work options providing flexibility for employees
Full Job Description
Job Description:

We're evolving how we attract and engage with our clients, and as a Mainframe Software Engineer on our team, you'll design, develop, support, and analyze large-scale applications and systems. This is a hands-on role focused on building high-quality solutions while growing your technical depth and contributing to meaningful client experiences.

This role is ideal for an engineer who thrives in a collaborative environment, values learning and continuous improvement, and can adapt to changing priorities while maintaining delivery quality.

Own Your Contributions
  • Break down and analyze application requirements into well-scoped work items
  • Design and develop mainframe applications under the guidance of senior engineers
  • Identify risks and raise them early to protect delivery timelines
  • Make sound technical decisions aligned with team standards and long-term maintainability
  • Contribute to maintaining the health, reliability, and evolvability of existing systems


Build and Learn
  • Contribute to end-to-end application development using modern mainframe tools (IBM IDz, zDevOps, VS Code, Zowe, GitHub Copilot)
  • Write production-quality COBOL code with appropriate testing and documentation
  • Learn and apply lightweight engineering practices that balance speed and quality
  • Stay current with emerging technologies and AI-assisted development tools


Collaborate Effectively
  • Work with peers, senior engineers, and stakeholders to deliver solutions
  • Clearly communicate progress, risks, and trade-offs
  • Contribute to improving client and developer experience through collaboration
  • Share knowledge with peers and contribute to improving team practices and standards


What You Bring
  • 3 - 5 years of experience in mainframe application development
  • Working knowledge of zOS / OS/390 environments
  • Experience with TSO/ISPF, DB2, IMS, JCL, and COBOL
  • Understanding of MQ and middleware concepts
  • Strong problem-solving and communication skills
  • Familiarity with Git, Bitbucket, Jenkins, and zDevOps pipelines is a plus
  • Experience with agile methodologies such as Scrum or Kanban is an asset
  • As this position is posted in several locations, we specify that bilingualism (French, English, both oral and written) is required for Quebec only for the frequent interactions with English and French-speaking colleagues or internal partners across Canada or worldwide.


Product Mindset
  • You think in terms of client and business outcomes
  • You're comfortable learning through iteration and feedback
  • You value ownership, accountability, and continuous improvement


Why This Role
  • Opportunity to contribute to systems that support clients' well being
  • Work within a collaborative and inclusive engineering culture
  • Ongoing learning through coaching, training, and hands-on experience
  • Access to modern development tooling and a supportive team environment


Notes / Operational Expectations

Occasional off-hours or weekend support may be required during key production activities; participation in an on-call rotation may apply

The Base Pay range is for the primary location for which the job is posted. It may vary depending on the work location of the successful candidate or other factors. In addition to Base Pay, eligible Sun Life employees participate in various incentive plans, payment under which is discretionary and subject to individual and company performance. Certain sales focused roles have sales incentive plans based on individual or group sales results.

We are proud to be a hybrid organization that offers our employees the choice and flexibility to work from both the office and virtually based on the needs of the business, our Clients and you! Several work options are available and can be discussed throughout the selection process depending on the role requirements and individual needs.

We may use artificial intelligence to support candidate sourcing, screening, interview scheduling.

We thank all applicants for showing an interest in this position. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Salary Range:
65,000/65 000 - 105,000/105 000

Job Category:
IT - Application Development

Posting End Date:
11/06/2026

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