Description review

Senior Mainframe Developer – IMS Database & zOS

USAA · San Antonio, TX · back to the listing

HR standards

61/100

needs work

Title ↔ description

92/100

strong

Reads as

Backend Engineer

99% confident

What this role officially is

software developer — ESCO, the EU occupation classification

Software developers implement or program all kinds of software systems based on specifications and designs by using programming languages, tools, and platforms.

Also known as: application developer, application programmer, solutions developer, programmer, software specialist, application software developer

How others title the same work

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What the listing never says

  • 26 bullet points. Long requirement lists deter qualified candidates, who read them as hard gates. Scope clarity
  • No pay range published. Candidates cannot tell whether applying is worth their time. Pay transparency

The listing, marked up

Nothing in the wording of this listing tripped a check. The scores above still judge how complete and coherent it is.

Why USAA?

At USAA, our mission is to empower our members to achieve financial security through highly competitive products, exceptional service and trusted advice. We seek to be the #1 choice for the military community and their families.

Embrace a fulfilling career at USAA, where our core values – honesty, integrity, loyalty and service – define how we treat each other and our members. Be part of what truly makes us special and impactful.

We are proud to support active-duty military spouses. USAA roles may offer remote or hybrid flexibility for active-duty military spouses consistent with applicable policy and business needs.

The Opportunity

The Senior Mainframe Developer provides support to the Enterprise through delivering best in class technology solutions. Engaged in all phases of the software systems and application development lifecycle which include gathering and analyzing requirements, designing, testing, documenting, and implementing software, responding to outages.

We offer a flexible work environment that requires an individual to be in the office 4 days per week. This position can be based in one of the following locations: San Antonio, TX or Plano, TX. Relocation assistance is not available for this position.

NOTE: This job requires an on-call rotation for incidents and escalations one week every 5-6 weeks.

What you'll do:

• Design, develop, code, and test complex tactical as well as strategic technical solutions across many technologies, including emerging technologies, to integrate existing systems and tools, collaborating with Engineers or Architects within their team/department and occasionally outside of their domain.
• Lead code/design reviews and communicates updates to stakeholders with team to ensure smooth daily operations and accurate planning.
• Develop complex algorithms to solve business needs.
• Investigates and resolves complex application and system technical problems and production issues by directing troubleshooting of end-to-end solutions.
• Mentor engineers, coach engineers on design, development, and maintenance of systems; review teammates' code.
• Influence and help shape the future of the domain's architecture and quality standards and understand, identify, measure across entire solution.
• Identify system performance issues, to include technical debt, and optimize solution.
• Ensure risks associated with business activities are effectively identified, measured, monitored, and controlled in accordance with risk and compliance policies and procedures.

What you have:

• Bachelor's degree; OR 4 years of relevant education and/or experience.
• 6+ years of software development experience including at least 3 years of developing and supporting applications in an IBM mainframe environment.
• 4+ years of experience delivering technology solutions in all phases of the software systems and application development lifecycle (i.e. source control, change control, promotion) to include leading code/design reviews.
• Advanced proficiency in PL/I programming, including code enhancements, debugging, performance tuning, and production support.
• Expertise in Job Control Language (JCL), including writing, modifying, troubleshooting, scheduling, and optimizing batch processes and job streams.
• Demonstrated experience with IMS zOS performance tuning, including identifying bottlenecks, optimizing transaction response times, and improving overall system throughput.
• Experience with IBM IMS Database (IMS DB)
• Experience using monitoring and observability tools, including Elastic to analyze application performance, investigate production issues, monitor system health, and support proactive performance optimization.
• Experience working in Agile/Scrum development environments, including active participation in daily standups, sprint planning, backlog refinement, and reviews.

What sets you apart:

• Experience with IBM MQ.
• REST API/web services on mainframe (z/OS Connect).
• Experience with Mainframe schedulers (Control-M).
• Familiarity with COBOL.
• Experience modernizing legacy mainframe applications or integrating mainframe systems with distributed/cloud platforms.
• Experience supporting or maintaining IBM DataStage jobs within a Mainframe environment.
• Financial services, insurance, banking, or other highly regulated industry experience.
• Experience mentoring junior developers and providing technical leadership.
• US military experience through military service or a military spouse/domestic partner

Compensation range: The salary range for this position is: $114,080 - $218,030.

USAA does not provide visa sponsorship for this role. Please do not apply for this role if at any time (now or in the future) you will need immigration support (i.e., H-1B, TN, STEM OPT Training Plans, etc.).

Compensation: USAA has an effective process for assessing market data and establishing ranges to ensure we remain competitive. You are paid within the salary range based on your experience and market data of the position. The actual salary for this role may vary by location.

Employees may be eligible for pay incentives based on overall corporate and individual performance and at the discretion of the USAA Board of Directors.

The above description reflects the details considered necessary to describe the principal functions of the job and should not be construed as a detailed description of all the work requirements that may be performed in the job.

Benefits: At USAA our employees enjoy best-in-class benefits to support their physical, financial, and emotional wellness. These benefits include comprehensive medical, dental and vision plans, 401(k), pension, life insurance, parental benefits, adoption assistance, paid time off program with paid holidays plus 16 paid volunteer hours, and various wellness programs. Additionally, our career path planning and continuing education assists employees with their professional goals.

For more details on our outstanding benefits, visit our benefits page on USAAjobs.com.

Applications for this position are accepted on an ongoing basis, this posting will remain open until the position is filled. Thus, interested candidates are encouraged to apply the same day they view this posting.

USAA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.

How this was produced

Highlights are found by rule, not by a model: each one is a phrase matched at a known position, and every note is a template we wrote. The two scores come from a typed-decision model (Jev) that reads the listing against the official role definition and real listings for the same role, and returns probabilities rather than prose — it never writes any of the words on this page, and never chooses what to highlight.

Deterministic penalty applied to the HR score: 8 points (from 69 before penalties). Reviewed 28 Sep 2026.