Title: Senior z/OS Systems Administrator
Location: 100% Remote
Duration: 12+ Months Contract
W2 ONLY
Job Description:
Position Overview
We are seeking an experienced Senior z/OS Systems Administrator to support and maintain a large-scale IBM mainframe environment. The ideal candidate will be a senior-level z/OS professional with deep hands-on expertise in SMP/E, REXX scripting, and z/OSMF, along with strong knowledge of z/OS systems administration, maintenance, upgrades, troubleshooting, and automation.
Key Responsibilities
• Install, configure, maintain, and support IBM z/OS operating systems and related system software.
• Perform z/OS upgrades, maintenance, system modifications, and lifecycle management.
• Provide advanced administration and troubleshooting of z/OS environments.
• Use SMP/E (System Modification Program/Extended) extensively for installation, maintenance, upgrades, PTFs, APARs, HOLDDATA processing, and management of IBM and third-party software.
• Analyze SMP/E environments, zones, CSI datasets, SYSMODs, and maintenance requirements.
• Develop and maintain REXX scripts to automate z/OS administration, monitoring, reporting, maintenance, and operational processes.
• Identify manual processes that can be improved through REXX-based automation.
• Administer and support IBM z/OS Management Facility (z/OSMF).
• Configure and maintain z/OSMF services, workflows, plugins, and system management functions.
• Utilize z/OSMF for system management, configuration, monitoring, and automation.
• Perform system problem determination, root-cause analysis, and resolution of complex z/OS issues.
• Monitor system performance, availability, capacity, and overall system health.
• Work with operations, application, storage, network, security, and database teams to resolve mainframe infrastructure issues.
• Participate in system upgrades, migrations, disaster recovery testing, and infrastructure modernization initiatives.
• Maintain system documentation, operating procedures, configuration standards, and technical runbooks.
• Provide technical leadership and mentoring to other mainframe systems administrators.
• Participate in production support and on-call activities as required.
Required Qualifications
• 10+ years of hands-on SMP/E experience in enterprise IBM z/OS environments.
• 10+ years of hands-on REXX scripting experience, including development of automation for systems administration and operational tasks.
• Strong hands-on experience with IBM z/OSMF (z/OS Management Facility).
• Extensive experience administering and supporting IBM z/OS in large enterprise environments.
• Strong knowledge of z/OS system architecture, configuration, maintenance, and troubleshooting.
• Experience installing and maintaining IBM and third-party mainframe software.
• Extensive experience applying PTFs, APARs, maintenance packages, and software upgrades using SMP/E.
• Strong understanding of SMP/E CSI structures, zones, SYSMOD processing, HOLDDATA, RECEIVE, APPLY, ACCEPT, and RESTORE processes.
• Strong knowledge of JCL, TSO/ISPF, UNIX System Services (USS), and z/OS utilities.
• Ability to diagnose complex system problems using z/OS logs, dumps, system messages, and diagnostic tools.
• Strong understanding of mainframe change-management and production-control processes.
• Excellent analytical, troubleshooting, documentation, and communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and take ownership of complex technical issues.
Preferred Skills
Experience with several of the following would be highly desirable:
• JES2
• RACF
• TCP/IP
• UNIX System Services (USS)
• HMC
• IBM System z / IBM Z hardware
• Parallel Sysplex
• Coupling Facility
• WLM
• RMF / SMF
• System Automation
• SDSF
• DFSMS
• Disaster Recovery / Business Continuity
• Mainframe monitoring and performance-management tools
• Automation using REXX, JCL, CLISTs, and other scripting technologies
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