Middleware Operations Engineer - MQ/ACE (L3)

Job Summary:

Client is seeking a highly skilled, and experienced Middleware Operations Engineer - MQ/ACE (L3) to join our dynamic team. This role is for a L3 engineer, who will provide expertise, support, and development for critical infrastructure components.  This position is responsible for maintaining, optimizing, and modernizing both the on-prem and cloud environments for the Enterprise Middleware infrastructure.

 

Key Responsibilities:

The Middleware Operations Engineer (L3) will be expected to:

 

Operations:

Oversee the administration, monitoring, and maintenance of MQ/ACE server infrastructure, application stability.

Managing and creating MQ objects such as Queues, Channels, Clustered Queues, etc

Creating/Maintaining MQ Clustering variants, PUB/SUB, and Client-access architectures

Work with MQ security aspects: Channel security, SSL, authentication & authorization mechanisms.

IIB administration who is able to do configuration changes, deployments and Broker setup.

Install and Configure IBM Integration Bus (IIB) Software in development, test and production environments.

Implementing and managing security protocols and policies in IIB environments

Provide L3 support for critical incidents, working to quickly diagnose and resolve issues that impact system availability.

24x7 on call support as L3 escalation for outage and critical incidents.

Perform problem resolution and root cause analysis for critical incidents.

Acts as liaison to vendor partners for advanced solutions.

 

Security and Compliance:

Partner with the Vulnerability management team to implement and enforce security best practices, ensuring that MQ/ACE servers and associated services meet Client's security and compliance standards.

Collaborate with the Vulnerability management team to conduct regular vulnerability assessments and apply patches, updates, and security configurations to mitigate potential threats as needed.

 

Performance Optimization and Capacity Management:

Continuously assess system performance and identify opportunities for improvement to enhance efficiency, scalability, and reliability.

Analyze system logs, monitor resource utilization, and perform tuning to achieve optimal server performance.

Develop and implement self-healing solutions to increase uptime.

Monitor infrastructure capacity to ensure that MQ/ACE server resources are effectively allocated and anticipate future infrastructure requirements.

 

Backup and Recovery:

Work with the Backup and Recovery team to develop and maintain robust backup and recovery strategies for MQ/ACE server infrastructure, ensuring data integrity and minimal downtime.

Perform routine backups and conduct recovery tests to verify the effectiveness of backup solutions.

Participate in Disaster Recovery exercises throughout the year.

 

Automation and Scripting:

Automate routine tasks and processes through scripting and automation tools to streamline operations and reduce manual intervention.

Develop other IAC tools as appropriate to optimize the environment.

 

Documentation and Knowledge Sharing:

Maintain up-to-date documentation of server configurations, procedures, and policies.

Share knowledge and expertise with junior team members, facilitating skill development and fostering a culture of continuous learning.

 

Stakeholder Interaction:

Communicate with internal stakeholders to gather requirements, provide technical guidance, and manage expectations.

Convey and document Linux expertise to all partners during critical outages.

Mentor and lead junior team members.

 

 Minimum Qualifications:

 Bachelor's degree in computer science or related field, or equivalent work experience.

10+ year’s experiences in MQ & ACE administration and ACE workflow.

In-depth knowledge of IBM middleware technologies like MQ, ACE & DataPower.

Experience working in an on call, 24x7 environment.

Excellent problem-solving and troubleshooting skills.

Strong communication and collaboration skills.

Scripting skills: ansible, bash

Ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.

 

Preferred Qualifications: 

IBM Certified Engineer

Experience with other middleware technologies such as IBM MQ/ACE

Strong automation skills

Familiarity with security and compliance standards (e.g., HIPAA, NIST, PCI, CIS).