Xolani Mbambo

Mainframe Developer with hands-on production experience in COBOL, JCL, VSAM, and IMS, plus working exposure to CICS, gained within a live banking environment on the Hogan/ELIPS platform. Skilled in application support, root-cause analysis, and data validation, with a proven record of reducing debugging time and maintaining application stability in a 24/7 production-support setting. Strong technical foundation, attention to detail, and collaborative approach, with a genuine drive to grow into a broader mainframe development role.

Junior COBOL Developer — Mainframe Application Support & Development - Absa Group - Randburg, Johannesburg

(2025-07 - 2026-05)

Develop, test, and maintain COBOL applications on the Hogan/ELIPS mainframe platform, working directly with VSAM files and IMS in a live banking production-like environment, with working exposure to CICS transactions.

• Investigate and resolve production issues across batch and online programs, performing root cause analysis that reduced debugging time by 20% and improved system reliability.
• Build and test APIs using Topaz Workbench and Postman, ensuring secure, accurate data exchange between enterprise banking applications.
• Execute data validation, system testing, and QA activities to ensure data integrity and application performance across legacy banking systems.
• Participate in 24/7 production support and standby rotations, responding to incidents and maintaining the availability and stability of critical banking applications.

COBOL Developer (Trainee Programme) - CAPACITI - Braamfontein, Johannesburg

(2024-10 - 2025-06)

Completed an intensive software development programme covering COBOL, SQL, JavaScript, and Java within a mainframe-like environment, following structured development methodologies.

• Collaborated on team-based development projects, strengthening problem-solving, analytical thinking, and teamwork skills.
• Built a practical foundation in debugging, testing, and optimisation of applications, and data-driven logic.

Bachelor of Information Technology in Business Systems - Information Technology in Business Systems - Rosebank College (2020-01 - 2022-12)

Higher Certificate in IT in Support Services - IT in Support Services - Rosebank College (2019-01 - 2019-12)