Mainframe CICS & MQ Consultant

Job Description/ Responsibilities:
• 8+ year experience in managing Mainframe CICS and MQ subsystems.
• System Maintenance & Configuration: Installing, maintaining, and upgrading CICS Transaction Server, MQSeries, and related ISV products (e.g., BMC MainView).
• CICS Region Management: Creating, configuring, and monitoring CICS regions (using tools like Omegamon/MainView) and managing CICSplex environments (CPSM) for load balancing.
• Performance Tuning: Analyzing system performance, adjusting System Initialization Table (SIT) parameters, and optimizing resources.
• Troubleshooting & Support: Providing 24x7 support, performing dump analysis, and resolving production issues (e.g., abends, transaction freezes).
• Experience familiar with IBM and other vendors web sites: Open problem cases, ask questions, prepare and send dumps.
• SMP/E – in depth knowledge to do install work on CICS and any associated products.
• Security – in depth knowledge of RACF (must be able to install security on CICS and associated products and create RACF security rules as they pertain to CICS).
• SMF – moderate skill set required to gather and manipulate SMF data (Eg: CICS 110 records).
• Problem determination skills – ability to diagnose problem and determine root cause and remediation.
• Understanding of a CICS MRO environment (TOR and AOR configuration).
• Set traces (Aux and GTF) – ability to set traces to aid vendors in problem management and determination.
• CICS shutdown statistics – be able to produce and interpret shutdown stats to aid in problem determination and growth projections.
• Understanding of the CICS dynamic storage areas and how to manipulate for short on storage situations or to accommodate future growth of applications.
• Create both transaction and system dumps (and port to vendors for analysis).
• RDO (resource definition online) – must be able to create any resource needed on CICS (e.g transactions, programs, files, transient data queue, LSR groups, etc).
• Web Services – creating and supporting of web services within CICS.
• RACF security – ability to install CICS security requirements, maintain RACF security within CICS and on all CICS resources.
• Proficient at creating (modifying) CICS reports/metrics (e.g CPU consumption, storage consumption, transaction volume, response times, wait times, etc).
• Provide training, technical guidance, and mentoring to junior team members.
• Demonstrate strong communication, documentation, coordination, problem-solving skills, and the ability to work independently as well as within a team.