AS400 Architect

We are looking for a seasoned AS/400 Architect to define the technical vision and architectural direction for the AI Tools team, shaping EPAM's in-house solution for IBM iSeries (AS/400) application reverse engineering, analysis, and modernization at an enterprise scale.

Responsibilities

• Define the architectural vision, standards, and technical roadmap for the IBM iSeries (AS/400) reverse-engineering and modernization solution
• Conduct application portfolio analysis to identify redundant, unreachable, duplicated, obsolete, tightly coupled, and highly complex code, and assess application quality, maintainability, performance, technical debt, modernization readiness, and potential risks
• Analyze legacy IBM AS/400 applications, identify dependencies and business rules, trace data flows, document application behavior, and assess undocumented or complex codebases
• Drive IBM AS/400 modernization approaches, including code refactoring, format conversion, database modernization, API and web-service enablement, UI modernization, application decomposition, cloud integration, re-platforming, and application retirement
• Collaborate with the AI Tools team to define requirements, validate analysis logic, improve prompts and rules, and enhance the accuracy of AI-generated application documentation and code insights
• Architect AI capabilities for program understanding, dependency discovery, business-rule extraction, data-flow analysis, impact analysis, code summarization, test-case generation, and modernization recommendations
• Contribute to technical assessments, proofs of concept, solution demonstrations, effort estimation, project planning, risk identification, progress reporting, and executive-level presentations
• Partner with customer IBM i SMEs, application owners, business analysts, modernization specialists, AI Tools team members, testing teams, cloud architects, and Technical Leadership across the client and EPAM organizations
• Ensure that the reverse-engineering and modernization solution complies with enterprise architecture standards, customer security policies, source-code handling requirements, data-protection controls, audit requirements, and applicable regulatory obligations
  
  

Requirements

• 13+ years of experience in enterprise midrange (iSeries or AS/400) technologies, with 5+ years focused on application analysis, reverse engineering, and modernization solutions
• Expertise in RPG III, RPG IV, and RPGLE, including hands-on development, maintenance, and refactoring of large-scale legacy applications
• Proficiency in free-format RPG, CL/CLLE, and COBOL, with the ability to analyze and convert fixed-format code to modern equivalents
• Skills in DDS, DSPFs, and SQL, including designing, interpreting, and optimizing display files, physical/logical files, and complex queries
• Background in Db2 for i, covering database design, performance tuning, journaling, stored procedures, triggers, and DDS-to-DDL conversion
• Understanding of IBM i architecture, including libraries, objects, service programs, printer files, commitment control, and integrated file systems
• Knowledge of reverse engineering techniques for legacy AS/400 applications, including dependency mapping, business-rule extraction, and data-flow tracing
• Familiarity with modernization strategies such as API enablement, web-service integration, UI modernization, application decomposition, cloud migration, and re-platforming
• Competency in application portfolio assessment, technical debt evaluation, code quality analysis, and modernization readiness reviews
• Capability to collaborate with AI Tools teams by defining requirements, validating analysis logic, refining prompts, and improving AI-generated documentation and code insights
• Flexibility to support delivery activities, including proofs of concept, effort estimation, project planning, risk identification, and executive-level presentations
• Showcase of strong stakeholder management skills to engage IBM i SMEs, application owners, business analysts, cloud architects, and technical leadership across client and internal organizations
• Qualifications in governance and compliance, ensuring adherence to enterprise architecture standards, security policies, data-protection controls, and regulatory obligations
• Proficiency in English at an Upper-Intermediate level (B2) or higher