QA Engineer – Mainframe and CICS

The QA Engineer will ensure the quality, reliability, and performance of enterprise applications running on IBM mainframe platforms, with particular focus on CICS-based online transaction processing. The role involves analyzing requirements, designing and executing functional and integration tests, validating batch and online workflows, managing defects, and collaborating with development, business analysis, and operations teams throughout the software delivery lifecycle.

Key Responsibilities

• Review business, functional, and technical requirements; identify test conditions, dependencies, risks, and coverage gaps.
• Develop and maintain test strategies, test plans, scenarios, test cases, test data, traceability, and execution evidence.
• Execute functional, regression, integration, system, smoke, and end-to-end testing for CICS transactions, batch jobs, files, databases, interfaces, and downstream systems.
• Validate screen flows, field edits, transaction responses, abends, recovery behavior, audit trails, and data integrity across online and batch processing.
• Verify JCL execution, job steps, return codes, spool output, restart and recovery procedures, and file generation or reconciliation.
• Query and validate data in DB2 and inspect VSAM or sequential files using approved mainframe utilities.
• Prepare and refresh test data while observing security, privacy, and environment controls.
• Log, triage, retest, and track defects to closure; provide clear reproduction steps, evidence, severity, and business impact.
• Collaborate with developers, business analysts, product owners, release teams, and production support to resolve issues and assess release readiness.
• Participate in requirement reviews, estimation, daily status reporting, test reviews, release validation, and post-implementation verification.
• Identify suitable regression scenarios for automation and contribute to reusable test assets, standards, and continuous improvement.
• Support root-cause analysis for production incidents and verify corrective changes without disrupting existing functionality.

Required Technical Skills

• Hands-on testing experience with IBM z/OS mainframe applications and CICS transactions.
• Working knowledge of COBOL application behavior, JCL, batch processing, job monitoring, and common mainframe failure conditions.
• Experience validating data in DB2 and working with VSAM, flat files, or other mainframe data stores.
• Familiarity with tools and utilities such as TSO/ISPF, SDSF, File-AID or equivalent, SPUFI or QMF, and job scheduling or monitoring tools.
• Ability to interpret copybooks, file layouts, job streams, screen maps, interface specifications, and technical logs.
• Strong understanding of software testing fundamentals, defect lifecycle, test design techniques, risk-based testing, and requirements traceability.
• Experience with a test management and defect tracking platform such as Azure DevOps, Jira, or an equivalent enterprise tool.
• Ability to write basic SQL queries for data setup, validation, reconciliation, and troubleshooting.
• Clear written and verbal communication, analytical thinking, attention to detail, and disciplined documentation.

Preferred Skills

• Experience testing applications that integrate CICS with MQ, APIs, distributed platforms, or third-party systems.
• Knowledge of REXX, test automation, service virtualization, or automated data comparison.
• Exposure to performance, resilience, security, accessibility, or disaster-recovery testing.
• Experience with Changeman, Endevor, Control-M, CA7, Xpediter, Abend-AID, or equivalent tools.
• Understanding of Agile delivery, CI/CD practices, DevOps controls, and release governance in regulated environments.
• Domain experience in banking, insurance, payments, healthcare, retail, or another high-volume transaction environment.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
• Typically 3-7 years of software quality assurance experience, including at least 2 years of hands-on mainframe and CICS testing.
• Demonstrated experience owning test activities for medium- to high-complexity changes across multiple systems.
• Ability to work independently, coordinate across time zones when required, and manage priorities in a release-driven environment.

Key Success Measures

• Complete, risk-focused test coverage with clear traceability to requirements.
• Accurate and timely execution results, defect reporting, and stakeholder communication.
• Reduced escaped defects and repeat incidents through effective regression testing and root-cause learning.