Mainframe System Engineer

A court in Virginia is looking to fill the role of Mainframe System Engineer in the department of Information Technology located in downtown Richmond, VA. This is a contract to hire role with a 6 month minimum contract.
This position will be a hybrid position with at least 2 days in office per week.
Pay Rate Range: $35.00 - $50.00/hr

Conversion Salary: $90k - $120k
Job Description:
This position plays a key role in the development, implementation, and maintenance of the IBM z Series mainframe, z/VM operating system, VSEn operating system and all peripheral devices attached to the current z/15 mainframe. Responsibilities include OS updates and patching, system backups, and collaboration with other system engineers on mainframe virtualization initiatives.

Minimum Qualifications:
8+ years of hands-on experience in mainframe administration, preferably with IBM Z series mainframes.
4+ years of experience with z/VM and z/VSE.
A bachelor s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field.
Expertise in installing, configuring, and maintaining the z/VM operating system.
Knowledge of the z/VSE/VSEn operating systems, including experience with CICS, CICS Transaction Gateway, and CICS Web Services
A deep understanding of virtualization concepts and technologies, including knowledge of virtual machine (VM) management, virtual networking, storage virtualization, and resource pooling.
In-depth knowledge of mainframe hardware components (processors, channels, control units).
Expertise in mainframe storage management (DASD, virtual tape, physical tape).
Experienced with mainframe network and communication technologies (TCPIP, VTAM, SNA, 3270, OSA, HiperSockets, etc).
Proficiency in mainframe system administration, performance tuning, and capacity planning.
Proficiency in programming languages commonly used in the z/VSE environment, such as Assembler, COBOL, PL/I, JCL, REXX, and CP/CMS EXEC.
Familiarity with mainframe security practices and compliance regulations.
The ability to analyze system logs, dumps, and other diagnostic information.
Expertise in data center operations and mainframe hardware related projects in the data center.
Proficiency in basic Linux administration tasks.
Additional Preferred Qualifications:
12+ years of hands-on experience in mainframe administration.
8+ years of experience with z/VM and z/VSE/VSEn.
A master s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field.
Certifications such as IBM Certified System Programmer, IBM Certified Advanced Technical Expert, or similar.
Hands-on experience with IBM DS8000 series disk storage systems.
Comprehensive understanding of IBM TS7700 virtual tape library.
Knowledge of IBM TS4500 physical tape library and tape management practices.
Experience with the Zeke/VSE mainframe job scheduler.
Understanding of and experience with VSE Interactive Computing and Control Facility (ICCF).