Remote Job : IBM Sterling Commerce Consultant /LEAD (Azure Migration) :: Location: USA Remote :: Contract

Job Role : IBM Sterling Commerce Consultant /LEAD (Azure Migration)
Location: 100% Remote Duration: Long Term Contract
Client : Infosys/BCBS
Job Description - IBM Sterling Commerce - Azure Cloud Migration - Senior Solution Design & Infrastructure Lead

Position Overview

We are seeking an accomplished IBM Sterling Commerce Architect with deep, hands-on expertise in large-scale Sterling deployments, infrastructure design, and cloud migration. The successful candidate will lead our Lift-and-Shift migration of the entire IBM Sterling B2B / Supply Chain platform from on-premises data centers onto Microsoft Azure, while ensuring zero degradation to all existing system integrations, IBM MQ messaging fabrics, and the Trading Partner ecosystem.

Role Purpose & Strategic Objectives

This role is critical to three strategic outcomes:

• Architect and execute the migration of IBM Sterling B2B Integrator, Sterling File Gateway, Sterling Connect:Direct, and associated components from bare-metal / VMware infrastructure to Azure Virtual Machines and supporting Azure services.
• Validate and certify that all 300+ system integrations, IBM MQ channel definitions, and Trading Partner onboarding configurations operate identically post-migration.
• Produce governing design artefacts Infrastructure Architecture Document, Migration Runbook, Integration Test Plan, and Rollback Procedures that remain as institutional knowledge for ongoing operations

IBM Sterling Technical Expertise Required

Application Build & Configuration (Must Have)

• Installation, configuration, and patching of IBM Sterling B2B Integrator (versions 6.0.x / 6.1.x) on Linux (RHEL / Oracle Linux) and Windows Server.
• Sterling File Gateway (SFG) setup: routing channels, producer/consumer profiles, PGP encryption, AS2, SFTP, and FTP adapters.
• Sterling Connect:Direct node configuration, network maps, process definition, security (STS), and checkpoint restart.
• Sterling Secure Proxy (SSP) deployment for DMZ-based partner-facing connectivity.
• Business Process (BP) modelling, BPML scripting, service configuration, and adapter framework customisation.
• Sterling Control Centre Monitor dashboard configuration, SLA alerting, and event correlation.

Microsoft Azure Cloud Migration Skills (Must Have)

Core IaaS / Platform Services

• Azure Virtual Machines: VM series selection (D/E-series for Sterling nodes), managed disk types (Premium SSD / Ultra Disk for DB), availability sets / zones.
• Azure Virtual Network (VNet): subnet design (app, DB, DMZ, management), NSG rules, UDR for forced tunnelling.
• Azure Bastion / Jump Host for secure SSH/RDP access without public IP exposure.
• Azure Load Balancer (L4) and Application Gateway (L7/WAF) for inbound Trading Partner traffic.
• Azure Files / Azure NetApp Files for shared NFS mounts required by Sterling cluster nodes.
• Azure Site Recovery (ASR) as the lift-and-shift engine or custom Ansible/Terraform-based migration approach.

Networking & Security

• ExpressRoute or VPN Gateway for private connectivity from existing on-premises systems to Azure during cutover.
• Azure Firewall / NVA placement in hub-spoke topology for partner-facing traffic inspection.
• Azure Key Vault for SSL certificate, PGP key, and database credential management post-migration.
• Azure Private Endpoint for storage accounts and databases to eliminate public internet exposure.
• NSG flow logs, Azure Monitor, and Log Analytics workspace for operational visibility.

DNS & IP Management

• Azure Private DNS zones for internal service resolution across VNets.
• Public DNS cutover strategy: TTL management, staged CNAME/A-record updates to avoid partner connectivity outage.
• IP address change impact assessment and partner notification plan.

Azure Cloud Migration Methodology for Sterling Lift & Shift (Must Have)

Discovery & Assessment Phase

• Full infrastructure discovery: server inventory, OS versions, JVM versions, Sterling patchlevels, database versions, MQ versions, and dependent middleware.
• Integration map creation: catalogue all inbound/outbound integration points (REST APIs, MQ queues, flat-file drops, database procedures).
• Network dependency mapping: ports, protocols, IPs, and FQDNs consumed by Sterling and consuming systems.
• Risk register: licence portability (Sterling on-cloud licensing), Oracle/DB2 cloud licensing uplift, MQ licensing in Azure.

Design & Build Phase

• Target Architecture Document: Azure landing zone design aligned to Sterling architecture, HA topology, DR strategy (RPO / RTO targets).
• Infrastructure-as-Code: Terraform / ARM templates for repeatable provisioning of all Azure resources.
• Gold image build: RHEL / Windows Server base image with Sterling prerequisites (JDK, OS packages, kernel parameters).
• Sterling installation on Azure VMs with same configuration as source environment (properties files, adapters, BPs, maps).
• MQ Queue Manager recreation on Azure: channel definitions, SSL keystores, cluster membership replication.

Integration Validation & Testing

• Integration regression suite: automated tests for all major BP flows, EDI transaction types, and file transfer channels.
• Trading Partner UAT: coordinate parallel-run period where partners send test transactions to Azure environment.
• Performance baseline: confirm throughput and latency on Azure matches or exceeds on-premises benchmarks.
• Smoke testing of Sterling Control Centre, SFG dashboards, and monitoring integrations.

Cutover & Hypercare

• Detailed cutover runbook with task owners, timing windows, and go/no-go decision points.
• Maintenance window coordination with Trading Partners and internal application teams.
• Rollback plan: ability to revert DNS, re-establish on-premises MQ channels, and restore on-premises Sterling nodes within defined RTO.
• Hypercare period (minimum 4 weeks): 247 on-call support for P1 issues, daily health checks, and partner call management.

Key Skills

Infrastructure Architecture for Large-Scale Sterling Deployments

The candidate must be able to design and document the full reference architecture, including:

• Multi-node cluster topology: Active-Active or Active-Passive HA configuration of Sterling B2BI nodes (perimeter, application, engine tiers).
• Database tier: Oracle RAC or DB2 clustering for Sterling schema; tablespace design, archiving, and purge strategy.
• Shared filesystem: NFS / GPFS mounts for Sterling install root, documents path, and archive directories.
• Load balancer configuration: F5 / Azure Application Gateway for HTTPS offload and sticky-session handling.
• Network zones: segregation of partner DMZ, internal integration network, and DB/admin network with firewall rules.
• OS hardening, JVM heap tuning (WebSphere Liberty / Embedded JBoss), strategy for high-throughput workloads.
• Sizing and capacity modelling: CPU, RAM, I/O throughput requirements for peak transaction volumes (EDI, file transfers, API calls).

Database Connectivity & Schema Knowledge

• Sterling schema objects: key tables (TRANS, WORKFLOW_CONTEXT, DOCUMENT, MSGSTORE, etc.) and their storage implications.
• JDBC connection pool sizing, datasource failover, and read-replica offloading for reporting queries.
• Database maintenance: index rebuilds, statistics updates, archival of TRANS/MSGSTORE, and PURGE job scheduling.
• Experience with Oracle RAC, IBM DB2 pureScale, or SQL Server Always On as Sterling back-end databases.

IBM MQ Integration Expertise (Good to have)

• Design and migration of IBM MQ Queue Managers, Channels (SVRCONN, SDR/RCVR), and Cluster topology.
• Sterling B2BI MQ Adapter configuration: JMS listener setup, queue manager binding, SSL/TLS channel authentication, and dead-letter queue (DLQ) handling.
• MQ on Azure: deployment options IBM MQ on Azure VM (lift-and-shift) vs. Azure Service Bus bridge assessment.
• MQ channel persistence, transactional messaging, and exactly-once delivery guarantees across the migrated environment.
• MQ monitoring integration with IBM MQ Console and/or third-party APM tools post-migration.
• MQ client library version compatibility with all internal consuming applications after platform change.

Trading Partner Ecosystem & B2B Protocol Knowledge

• Deep knowledge of EDI standards: ANSI X12, EDIFACT, TRADACOMS enveloping, acknowledgment (997/CONTRL), and map translation.
• Communication protocols: AS2, AS4, SFTP, FTPS, HTTP/S, and OFTP2 certificate management, MDN handling, and retry logic.
• Trading Partner profile migration: exporting/importing partner agreements, identity certificates, and PGP key rings from existing environment to Azure-hosted instance.
• Regression testing of end-to-end partner transactions: inbound EDI ingestion, BP execution, outbound acknowledgment cycle.
• Coordination with external Trading Partners for IP allow-listing, certificate re-issuance, and connectivity validation against new Azure public IPs / FQDN changes.
• VAN (Value Added Network) gateway reconfiguration where applicable.

Thanks, and Regards!!
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