Senior PowerBuilder Developer

We are looking for an Amazing: Senior PowerBuilder Developer / Technical Analyst

Seniority: 5+ years

Location: Belgium

Skills Needed

• Minimum 5 years of hands-on experience with PowerBuilder, including versions 8 through 2022 / Appeon.
• Strong expertise in PowerScript, including events, functions, structures, transaction management (SQLCA, COMMIT, ROLLBACK), and PowerBuilder Foundation Classes (PFC).
• Extensive experience with DataWindows and DataStores, including Composite, Group and Nested DataWindows, as well as DataWindow expressions such as Describe, Modify and Evaluate.
• Strong knowledge of relational databases and SQL, including transactional SQL, stored procedures (PL/SQL), query optimization, embedded SQL and dynamic SQL.
• Experience in reverse engineering and analysing legacy applications, inspecting and mapping PowerBuilder objects, PBLs, DataWindows, DataStores, PowerScript and PFC to understand existing application behaviour.
• Ability to identify and document business rules, distinguishing core business logic from UI behaviour, obsolete features and historical technical workarounds.
• Experience in decoupling business logic from GUI controls and direct database access, supporting application modernisation and migration initiatives.
• Understanding of modern application architectures, including stateless REST APIs, microservices, Spring Boot, Angular and JSON DTOs.
• Experience with Java (Spring Boot) and/or Angular is an advantage. Alternatively, candidates should demonstrate a strong willingness and ability to learn these technologies to support the migration.
• Knowledge of static code analysis and AI-assisted analysis tools, particularly Visual Expert, to accelerate documentation and maintain traceability between legacy code and new specifications.
• Experience with technical documentation, including clear and structured functional and technical specifications that can be understood by developers working with modern technologies.
• Ability to collaborate with business analysts, domain experts and development teams to map legacy business logic to target business processes.
• Experience defining and validating REST API contracts with Java/Angular development teams and supporting non-regression testing, including characterisation and Golden Master tests.
• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills, with the ability to challenge legacy code, identify edge cases and ask the right questions to business stakeholders.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to work effectively with management, functional analysts and technical teams.
• Languages: Professional fluency in English and proficiency in either French or Dutch.

Your Responsibilities

• Expertise & Support: Provide advanced technical support for a complex PowerBuilder application.
• Production Maintenance: Share production maintenance responsibilities with the current lead developer, strictly following established support protocols and documentation standards.
• Knowledge Management: Structure and maintain the technical knowledge base to reduce dependency on individual team members and mitigate knowledge-retention risks.
• Reverse Engineering & Analysis: Inspect and map PowerBuilder objects, including PBLs, DataWindows, DataStores, PowerScript and PFC, to understand and document the application's actual behaviour.
• Business Rule Extraction: Identify and separate core business rules from UI behaviour, obsolete functionality and historical technical workarounds.
• Business Logic Decoupling: Help isolate business logic from GUI controls and direct database access, including embedded SQL, dynamic SQL and stored procedures.
• Business Workshops: Collaborate with business analysts and domain experts to map legacy application logic to the target business process catalogue.
• Migration Support: Work closely with Java/Angular developers to define REST API contracts and support the transition to the new platform.
• Testing & Validation: Help validate non-regression test suites, including characterisation and Golden Master tests, to ensure existing business behaviour is preserved during migration.
• Tooling & Traceability: Use Visual Expert and AI-assisted analysis tools to accelerate documentation and maintain traceability between legacy code, business rules and new technical specifications.

Why should you become part of our family?

• Personalised Career Development: Build a career that fits your needs and goals, with a development plan tailored to your short- and long-term ambitions.
• Interesting Challenges Ahead: Work with clients across different sectors and take on challenging technology projects.
• Free Training Programmes: Access training and certification opportunities in languages, technology, behavioural skills and business.
• International Projects in Benelux: Gain international experience and contribute to projects across the Benelux region.
• Flexible Project Environments: Depending on the project, enjoy hybrid, fully remote or fully on-site working arrangements.
• Well-being First: Benefit from access to nutrition, psychology and general medicine appointments, as well as yoga and personal training sessions, available remotely.

Who are we?

Founded in 2008 and based in Lisbon, KCS IT is an IT consulting company focused on creating value for our clients through consulting, outsourcing, innovation and training.

Our commitment to talent development is reflected in the expansion of our hubs in Porto, Leiria and the Azores, supporting technology projects for both national and international markets.

Since 2018, we have been recognised as one of the top 10 companies in the Index of Excellence, an initiative that rewards organisations that invest in employee development and satisfaction.

We believe transparency, trust and integrity are the foundations of every successful business relationship, and these are the values we promise to uphold with our clients and everyone who joins KCS IT.