Lead Software Engineer - IBM iSeries

Company Cox Automotive - USA Job Family Group Engineering / Product Development Job Profile Lead Software Engineer Management Level Manager - Non People Leader Flexible Work Option Hybrid - Ability to work remotely part of the week Travel % Yes, 5% of the time Work Shift Day Compensation Compensation includes a base salary in the range of $122,600.00 - $204,400.00. The base salary may vary within the anticipated base pay range based on factors such as the ultimate location of the position and the selected candidate’s knowledge, skills, and abilities. Position may be eligible for additional compensation that may include an incentive program. Job Description The Lead Software Engineer serves as a senior technical leader responsible for designing, developing, enhancing, and supporting complex software systems that are critical to business operations. This role provides deep technical expertise across both the business and technical landscape, drives engineering best practices, and helps define near- and long-term technical direction. This position requires extensive hands-on software development experience, exceptional problem-solving skills, and highly specialized knowledge of IBM iSeries systems. The person in this role, is expected to lead development efforts, guide resolution of the most complex production issues, provide Level 3 triage support for critical business applications, and serve as a trusted advisor to both technical and business stakeholders. The role requires deep expertise in IBM iSeries application development and RPG programming as well as extensive knowledge of the operational processes that support inventory management and their transactions. Additionally, this role provides technical leadership and support for critical inventory operations supporting strategic commercial and third-party clients as well as major and critical accounts. The individual is responsible for ensuring operational continuity, resolving high-impact issues, identifying modernization opportunities, and driving technical excellence across the organization. Key Responsibilities Software Development and Technical Leadership Lead team efforts to design, develop, test, document, and support complex software systems, applications, automation and integrations. Design, develop, enhance, test, and support enterprise software systems and integrations across multiple platforms. Drive RPG development, enhancements, and modernization efforts. Lead technical solutioning for large-scale, high-impact initiatives spanning multiple applications, teams, and business domains. Collaborate with analysts, engineers, architects, product teams, and business stakeholders to develop highly complex technical solutions. Support multiple engineering teams through sound technical leadership, procedural guidance, and solution development. Translate business needs, operational requirements, and customer expectations into scalable and maintainable technical solutions. Estimate software development efforts and technical initiatives with a high degree of predictability and accuracy. Establish and promote engineering standards for quality, maintainability, security, performance, reliability, and scalability. Review system designs, architecture proposals, and code changes to ensure solutions align with organizational standards and technical direction. Evaluate secure coding practices, engineering tools, and development processes while identifying opportunities for improvement. Research, evaluate, and adopt AI and emerging technologies, engineering practices, and modernization approaches that improve system performance, engineering productivity, and operational resilience. Present system designs, architectural recommendations, and technical solution proposals to peers, leadership teams, and stakeholders. Define, measure, and recommend metrics that improve software quality, cycle time, reliability, service availability, and operational effectiveness. IBM iSeries/ Specialized Systems Expertise Serve as the primary subject matter expert in IBM iSeries application development, support, and modernization. Provide deep technical expertise in RPG development and support for AS400. Maintain extensive knowledge of legacy system behaviors, business processes, integrations, and operational dependencies. Serve as a domain expert for integrations between internal and external systems, ensuring seamless data exchange and business continuity. Diagnose and resolve highly complex issues involving IBM i applications, batch jobs, interfaces, APIs, integrations, and downstream systems. Support and improve mission-critical systems used to manage inventory, operations, and products lifecycle processes. Provide expert-level support for inventory operations associated with strategic commercial accounts and other enterprise partners. Partner with business and product teams to improve inventory management processes, operational workflows, and system capabilities. Identify opportunities to improve observability, maintainability, stability, and long-term sustainability of IBM i applications. Support modernization initiatives while ensuring operational continuity and preservation of critical business functionality. Champions AI adoption and utilization beyond their team’s circle. Document technical designs, operational dependencies, support procedures, and system behaviors to improve organizational knowledge and reduce risk. Level 3 Production Support and Triage Lead Level 3 triage and incident resolution efforts for business-critical production systems. Serve as the senior escalation point for incidents with significant customer, operational, or financial impact. Provide expert support during production impacting events and other operationally sensitive business activities. Lead troubleshooting efforts involving related integrated platforms. Conduct root cause analysis for severe and recurring incidents and drive corrective and preventive actions. Partner with Product, Operations, Client Care, Support, and Engineering organizations during incident response activities. Communicate complex technical issues clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences. Provide timely updates regarding service impact, mitigation strategies, recovery efforts, and ongoing risks. Identify systemic issues and drive improvements that reduce operational risk, improve service stability, and prevent future incidents. Strategic Influence and Cross-Functional Collaboration Build strong partnerships across Engineering, Product, Operations, Client Care, Architecture, and business organizations. Act as a trusted advisor by leveraging deep business knowledge and technical expertise to influence decision-making. Participate in defining strategic technology direction and long-term engineering roadmaps. Collaborate with architects and technology leaders to drive modernization efforts and system evolution. Influence technical standards, engineering practices, support models, and operational excellence initiatives across teams. Drive peer-to-peer technical learning, mentoring, and knowledge-sharing initiatives. Facilitate technical reviews and collaborative design sessions to improve engineering effectiveness and solution quality. Lead cross-functional initiatives focused on improving customer experience, operational efficiency, and system reliability. Promotes and champions AI adoption. Promote a culture of continuous improvement, innovation, accountability, and technical excellence. Minimum Qualifications Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Technology, or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience. 6+ years of experience developing, supporting, and maintaining enterprise-scale software solutions. SDLC expert. 6+ years of experience with IBM i systems and RPG development. 6+ years of experience with Python. 4+ years of experience supporting complex integrations and operationally critical business