Job Description & Details
This is a heavy-duty, mission-critical contract role maintaining the core DMV business systems (known as Phoenix) for South Carolina. You'll be stepping in as a Senior Programmer and Team Lead to handle everything from backend COBOL architecture to bridging the gap with .NET interfaces and Oracle databases. If you know your way around legacy modernization and public sector compliance, this is a solid long-term gig supporting actual state infrastructure.
What You'll Actually Be Doing
Your days will be split between deep-dive technical troubleshooting, writing solid code, and steering the development team. You'll analyze complex Phoenix system tickets, translate business requirements from state stakeholders into technical specs, and handle L3 production support when things go sideways. Expect to spend a lot of time debugging Oracle SQL queries and ensuring that legacy COBOL modules play nice with the Windows-based client-server environment and federal traffic processing mandates.
The Core Tech Stack
You need absolute fluency in Visual COBOL and Micro Focus COBOL (ideally version V9), backed by at least a decade of enterprise-grade client-server development. Oracle SQL is a must-have for data retrieval and database management, while working knowledge of Microsoft Visual Studio, .NET, and C# will keep you sane as you interface with the modern frontend wrappers. Because this is a government system, getting your head around CJIS security standards and rigorous state documentation practices is just part of the daily grind.
Interview Expectations
When you talk to the hiring team, expect them to test your architectural chops on legacy-to-modern integration, specifically how you manage data integrity when passing transactions between COBOL backends and .NET frontends. They'll also probe your leadership style by asking how you handle conflicting priorities from non-technical stakeholders during an emergency L3 production outage. They aren't just looking for a coder here; they want a tech lead who can calmly unblock a team and translate bureaucratic requirements into clean code.
Application Advice
To get past the automated ATS and land on the hiring manager's desk, make sure your resume explicitly calls out your years of experience with Micro Focus Visual COBOL, Oracle SQL, and leading technical teams in a government or enterprise setting. Don't hide your leadership or L3 support background in a tiny bullet point—bring those front and center. Also, clearly state your current residency in SC, NC, or GA, as local presence is a strict non-negotiable for this hybrid setup.