Mainframe z/OS Systems Engineer

Job Title: Mainframe z/OS Systems Engineer
Job Location: Reston, VA (Hybrid)
Job Type: Contract-to-Hire
Interview Mode: Onsite Interview

Job Description:

We are seeking a Senior / Lead Mainframe z/OS Systems Engineer to support, maintain, and modernize a large-scale IBM z/OS mainframe environment. This role plays a critical part in platform stability, resiliency, and transformation initiatives while providing hands-on technical leadership across system engineering activities.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and participate in the analysis, design, development, and implementation of mainframe system engineering solutions.
• Install, configure, tune, upgrade, troubleshoot, and maintain IBM z/OS systems in a SYSPLEX environment.
• Partner with managed service providers to optimize performance, resiliency, and availability of the mainframe platform.
• Provide hands-on incident support, service restoration, and Root Cause Analysis (RCA).
• Analyze system architecture, hardware/software compatibility, capacity planning, monitoring, patching, and automation.
• Evaluate and recommend improvements to scalability, performance, and system integration.
• Conduct system testing, performance analysis, and end-user reviews for new or enhanced systems.
• Develop and support system automation and batch scheduling.
• Mentor junior and senior team members and provide technical guidance across teams.
• Stay current with industry trends, best practices, and emerging mainframe technologies.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field (or 4 additional years of relevant experience in lieu of degree)
• 8-10+ years of hands-on experience supporting IBM z/OS systems in an enterprise SYSPLEX environment
• Strong leadership, problem-solving, and cross-team collaboration skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Required Technical Skills:

• z/OS Systems Programming (5-10 years)
• RACF Security Administration (5-10 years)
• CICS TS Systems Programming (5-10 years)
• IBM MQ Systems Programming (5-10 years)
• DB2 (5-10 years; systems-level experience preferred but not required)
• ISV production installations
• IBM System Automation
• Batch Scheduling (Control-M)
• Strongly Desired Skills
• SYSPLEX & ICF configuration and tuning (de-coupling experience a plus)
• IBM z16 hardware and Dell/EMC storage infrastructure
• TCP/IP and network communication protocols
• Middleware integration (AIX, WebSphere, LDAP, Networks)
• Pervasive Encryption on z/OS
• Ransomware protection and recovery for mainframe
• Java / J2EE
• DB2 / UDB

Preferred Certifications:

• ITIL Foundation v3 (or willingness to obtain within 180 days)