Senior COBOL Engineer & AI Innovator
Sector: Insurance
Location: Brussels
Contract length: 12 months
Estimated daily rate (EUR): 610 - 740
Languages: Dutch or French fluent · both understood · English
Estimated daily rates are Rivant market estimates for guidance — not a client rate card.
Role details
Start date: ASAP
Duration: 12 months
Extension possible: Yes
Education: Bachelor's degree or equivalent through relevant professional experience
Location detail: Brussels centre - typically 2 days per week at the office. Remote/telework from Belgium only
About the role
A major Belgian insurer in Brussels is reinforcing the team behind a strategic Employee Benefits platform that manages group insurance and healthcare contracts. As Senior COBOL Engineer & AI Innovator, you own development, technical analysis, production support and maintenance on a Micro Focus Enterprise Server estate (COBOL, SQL Server, online and batch), and you help the organisation use Generative AI and Microsoft Copilot to improve analysis, documentation, testing, code quality and modernisation — bridging proven legacy technology and pragmatic innovation.
Responsibilities
- Design effective, maintainable and performant technical solutions with functional designers
- Take ownership of important applications, batch processes, incidents and technical improvements
- Ensure correct deployment across environments and validate solutions through appropriate testing
- Maintain technical patrimony quality and anticipate the impact of new developments
- Identify and resolve technical implementation issues, including production and performance problems
- Coach less experienced colleagues and share knowledge within the team
- Contribute to modernisation initiatives and the future direction of the application landscape
- Explore Generative AI and Microsoft Copilot for analysis, documentation, testing, code quality and developer productivity, and help turn promising concepts into pragmatic, secure, measurable improvements
Business experience
| Skill | Level | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Working in a large IT organisation with transversal stakeholders | Not specified | Mandatory |
| Analysing complex business processes and translating them into reliable technical solutions | Not specified | Mandatory |
| Proven ownership of critical applications, incidents and production processes | Not specified | Mandatory |
| Insurance or banking experience | Not specified | Preferable |
Functional experience
| Skill | Level | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Functional analysis knowledge for IT projects | Not specified | Mandatory |
| Structured testing and test automation concepts | >3 | Mandatory |
| Database and data model design | Not specified | Mandatory |
Technical experience
| Skill | Level | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced COBOL application development | 10+ | Mandatory |
| Strong SQL / DB2 or SQL Server knowledge, including performance | 10+ | Mandatory |
| Technical analysis, solution design, debugging and troubleshooting | 10+ | Mandatory |
| Testing, deployment and production support | 10+ | Mandatory |
| Application modernisation and integration with other technologies | 10+ | Mandatory |
| Strong interest in Generative AI, Microsoft Copilot and intelligent automation; ability to evaluate AI use cases for analysis, documentation, testing and code quality | Not specified | Mandatory |
| Practical experience with Generative AI, Microsoft Copilot, GitHub Copilot or intelligent automation | Not specified | Preferable |
| Experience with AI-assisted software development | Not specified | Preferable |
Language requirements
Dutch or French fluent · both understood · English
| Language | Speaking | Reading | Writing | Mandatory |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Basic | Good | Basic | Yes |
| Dutch | Fluent | Fluent | Fluent | No |
| French | Fluent | Fluent | Fluent | No |
Soft skills
- Logical and methodical insight; strong problem-solving and troubleshooting
- Autonomous and collaborative; structured, proactive, pragmatic and result-oriented
- Clear communication with a coaching mindset
- Ownership of running requests; planning within agreed deadlines; calm under punctual stress
- Curious about new technologies and willing to challenge existing ways of working
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