Role: Mainframe Infra Engineer (Mainframe z/OS Technical Lead / L3 Engineer)
Location: McLean, VA (Hybrid)
Job Type: W2 Contract
Skill Matrix:
| Name | Required |
| IMS | Yes |
| DB2 | Yes |
| JCL | Yes |
| Cobol | Yes |
| Mainframe CICS | Yes |
| CICS | Yes |
| z/OS | Yes |
Experience: Overall 15 years
Job Description:
We are seeking a senior Mainframe Z/OS Technical Lead to act as the client-side SME overseeing outsourced mainframe services and guiding a small internal team.
Responsibilities:
Provide technical oversight of vendor-managed mainframe operations
Review daily operations, incidents, RCA, changes, and releases
Validate vendor recommendations and ensure adherence to SLAs and ITIL processes
Act as escalation point for complex mainframe issues
Provide expert guidance on z/OS, Sysplex, WLM, JES, and RACF
Oversee IMS (DB/DC), DB2 for z/OS, and CICS environments
Review system performance, capacity, availability, and stability
Recommend improvements for performance, automation, and cost optimization
Identify risks, technical debt, and modernization opportunities
Review DR, BCP, backup, and recovery strategies
Provide architectural input for upgrades and future-state planning
Communicate technical insights clearly to leadership and stakeholders
Required Skills:
10+ years of strong hands-on mainframe experience.
Expert knowledge of z/OS, IMS, DB2, CICS
Strong understanding of JCL, COBOL, and batch processing
Experience with vendor-managed or outsourced environments
Ability to influence, challenge, and guide vendors constructively
Preferred:
Mainframe modernization or optimization experience
ITIL process exposure