Mainframe MQ Engineer (z/OS & IBM i Support)

Job Title: Mainframe MQ Engineer (z/OS & IBM i Support)

Location: Remote (Onshore – US Based)
Duration: 12+ Months
Experience Required: 5+ Years
Positions: 2

Job Overview

We are seeking an experienced Mainframe MQ Engineer to provide hands-on support for IBM MQ environments across z/OS and IBM i (IBMi) platforms. The ideal candidate will be responsible for administering, maintaining, troubleshooting, and supporting enterprise messaging infrastructure that supports mission-critical business applications.

This role requires strong expertise in IBM MQ administration, mainframe systems, monitoring, troubleshooting, and integration with enterprise applications and infrastructure.

Key Responsibilities

IBM MQ Administration & Support

• Administer and support IBM MQ on z/OS and IBM i platforms
• Create, configure, and maintain:
• Queue Managers (QMGRs)
• Queues (Local, Remote, Alias, Model)
• Channels, listeners, and clusters
• Support MQ connectivity across mainframe and distributed environments
• Perform MQ installations, upgrades, patching, and maintenance

Mainframe Systems Support

• Work within z/OS environment using ISPF, JCL, SDSF, JES, PDSE, and VSAM
• Support MQ integration with mainframe subsystems including:
• DB2
• CICS
• IMS
• TCP/IP networking
• Support SMP/E maintenance and MQ lifecycle management

Monitoring, Troubleshooting & Performance Tuning

• Monitor MQ using tools such as:
• Splunk, Prometheus, Grafana, Ironstream
• Troubleshoot messaging issues including:
• Queue failures
• Channel connectivity issues
• Performance bottlenecks
• Analyze logs, SMF data, and system metrics
• Configure alerting, thresholds, and automated notifications

MQ Infrastructure & Integration Support

• Support advanced MQ configurations including:
• Queue Sharing Groups (QSG)
• Coupling Facilities and Shared Queues
• MQ Clustering and Channel configurations
• MQIPT connectivity and secure messaging
• Support MQ integrations with applications using MQ APIs
• Support message replication and queue streaming features

Incident, Change & Production Support

• Participate in incident, problem, and change management processes
• Support production incidents and root cause analysis
• Participate in on-call rotations and war room support
• Support Disaster Recovery exercises and testing

IBM i (IBMi) MQ Support (Preferred)

• Support MQ environments on IBM i platform
• Work with IBMi systems including:
• Jobs, libraries, logs, and file systems
• MQ administration commands and environment settings
• Support high availability configurations such as Mimix and DB2 Mirror

Documentation & Collaboration

• Create and maintain technical and operational documentation
• Document messaging flows and architecture diagrams
• Collaborate with infrastructure, application, and vendor teams
• Provide timely technical support and customer service

Required Qualifications

• Minimum 5+ years of experience supporting IBM MQ
• Strong hands-on experience with MQ on z/OS
• Experience creating and managing:
• Queue Managers
• Queues and channels
• MQ clusters and connectivity
• Strong knowledge of mainframe tools:
• z/OS, ISPF, JCL, SDSF, JES, VSAM
• Experience with MQ monitoring and troubleshooting
• Experience supporting production environments
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills
• Excellent communication and teamwork skills
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with MQ on IBM i (IBMi)
• Experience with MQIPT and distributed MQ environments
• Experience with DB2, CICS, IMS integration
• Experience with monitoring tools such as Splunk, Prometheus, or Grafana
• Experience with Queue Sharing Groups and Coupling Facilities
• Experience with disaster recovery and high availability setups
• Experience supporting secure or regulated environments
• Basic knowledge of containers and IBM Cloud Pak for Integration (CP4I)
• Experience using AI tools and automation for system analysis
  
  

Soft Skills

• Excellent troubleshooting and analytical skills
• Strong communication and documentation skills
• Ability to work independently in a remote environment
• Strong organizational and multitasking abilities
• Ability to work in a fast-paced production support environment