Senior Mainframe Systems/Platform Engineer

Senior Mainframe Systems/Platform Engineer z/OS, CICS, MQ and zCEE

Position Overview-(Remote-Onsite)

The Senior Mainframe Platform Engineer is responsible for the engineering, health, security, resiliency, connectivity, and performance of mission-critical mainframe platforms. This position provides technical leadership across z/OS, CICS, MQ, zCEE, networking, hardware, storage, performance management, and capacity planning within a Parallel Sysplex environment. The successful candidate will lead complex engineering initiatives, develop platform roadmaps, troubleshoot critical incidents, support technology modernization, and establish standards that improve platform availability, scalability, and operational efficiency. This individual will also provide technical direction, education, and mentoring to engineers, programmers, analysts, and technical support associates. This can be either a remote or onsite position.

Key Responsibilities

• Maintain the overall health, security, resiliency, availability, connectivity, and performance of z/OS, CICS for z/OS, MQ for z/OS, and zCEE across multiple Sysplexes and central electronic complexes.
• Engineer, install, configure, customize, maintain, and support z/OS operating systems, application subsystems, independent software vendor products, and related mainframe technologies.
• Support CICS, CICSPLEX, MQ, zCEE, Workload Manager, Coupling Facility, SMF processing, DASD, hardware configurations, channels, IPL processes, storage management, and Parallel Sysplex environments.
• Design and support mainframe networking and connectivity, including TCP/IP, SNA/APPN, LU6.2, sockets, EXCI, TCP, UDP, ICMP, routing protocols, AT-TLS, IPsec, and z/VM SSL Server.
• Diagnose and resolve complex z/OS and z/VM connectivity, encryption, transmission, performance, and capacity issues.
• Execute and analyze packet traces, system dumps, traces, logs, and performance data to identify root causes and restore service.
• Lead troubleshooting and root-cause analysis for high-priority CICS, MQ, zCEE, networking, and mainframe platform incidents.
• Identify opportunities to eliminate recurring issues, reduce mean time to recovery, and improve monitoring, automation, resiliency, availability, and scalability.
• Develop platform roadmaps, technical strategies, reference models, blueprints, implementation playbooks, operating standards, and technology lifecycle plans.
• Translate application and business requirements into technical definitions, engineering designs, integration requirements, and implementation plans.
• Develop, document, and deliver pre-implementation and post-implementation impact analyses for technology refreshes, hardware changes, software upgrades, and application releases.
• Create and maintain platform documentation, operational procedures, workflow diagrams, reports, key performance indicators, capacity plans, and technical support materials.
• Review and develop automation solutions that reduce manual, repetitive, or inefficient processes.
• Evaluate and prototype new platform features, third-party products, subsystem technologies, and engineering strategies.
• Lead or contribute to product evaluations, on-site assessments, proofs of concept, and enterprise adoption recommendations.
• Perform software installation and maintenance activities using SMP/E and related mainframe tools.
• Apply formal change-control practices within a regulated environment.
• Coordinate with application programmers, users, infrastructure teams, security partners, software vendors, and management to identify symptoms and deliver accurate problem resolution.
• Provide technical direction, training, and mentoring to engineers, programmers, analysts, and technical support associates.
• Influence technical activities and special initiatives without necessarily having direct reports.
• Manage multiple priorities and deliver work within established commitments in a complex, rapidly changing environment.
• Participate in a rotating 24x7 on-call support schedule.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, information technology, engineering, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• Seven or more years of professional experience in z/OS or mainframe systems engineering.

Preferred Qualifications

• Significant hands-on experience with one or more of the following: z/OS installation, customization, and maintenance.
• Significant hands-on experience with one or more of the following: CICS for z/OS.
• Significant hands-on experience with one or more of the following: MQ for z/OS.
• Significant hands-on experience with one or more of the following: zCEE for z/OS.
• Significant hands-on experience with one or more of the following: Mainframe networking.
• Significant hands-on experience with one or more of the following: Performance management and capacity planning.
• Significant hands-on experience with one or more of the following: Storage or hardware configuration.
• Significant hands-on experience with one or more of the following: Independent software vendor product installation and maintenance.
• Three or more years of experience in technical or project leadership, platform road mapping, or KPI development, with demonstrated success guiding technology strategy, owning platforms, planning portfolios, and developing engineering talent.
• Advanced experience with SMP/E.
• Experience diagnosing,