Mainframe Z/OS Administrator

DCV Technologies; Bracknell; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading car rental company is seeking a Mainframe Z/OS Administrator in Bracknell, UK. This role involves managing, optimizing, and maintaining the z/OS operating environment, ensuring system performance and high availability. Responsibilities include executing system upgrades, monitoring performance, and providing expert support for mainframe incidents. The ideal candidate will have in-depth experience with z/OS and major ISV products, along with hands-on knowledge of IBM Z mainframe hardware. Competitive benefits and support are provided.

Qualifications

• In-depth knowledge and hands-on experience with z/OS installation, configuration, and maintenance.
• Proven experience with major z/OS upgrades.
• Extensive installation and support experience of various ISV products.

Responsibilities

• Plan and execute z/OS operating system upgrades.
• Monitor z/OS system health using various tools.
• Provide expert-level support for mainframe incidents.
• Analyze system performance data.

Skills

z/OS Operating System Management

System Performance Monitoring

Hardware Configuration

Problem Resolution

Tools

IBM Z Hardware

RMF

SMF

TMON

SAS

Broadcom/CA

BMC

IBM Products

Rocket Software

Job description

Our client, an award-winning Car Hire Rental company is looking for a Mainframe Z/Os Administrator. This role is responsible for implementing, maintaining and optimizing z/OS Operating environment and involves managing system configuration, upgrades, applying maintenance (PTFs/RSUs), monitoring system performance and ensuring high availability. The engineer will oversee hardware components such as CPCs, LPARs, DASD, tape systems, HMC/SE, and IOCP/IODF configurations.

Your responsibilities:

• Plan, prepare, and execute z/OS operating system upgrades
• Apply IBM PTFs and APARs to maintain system integrity and resolve reported issues
• Monitor z/OS system health, performance, and resource utilization using tools like RMF, SMF, TMON and SAS
• Install, configure, upgrade, and maintain a wide range of ISV products (e.g., Broadcom/CA, BMC, IBM, Rocket Software, etc.)
• Have good understanding and experience on Hardware Configuration Definitions / IOCP and HMC Management and WLM management.
• Collaborate with vendors for problem resolution, licensing, and technical support.
• Ensure compatibility and integration of ISV products with the z/OS environment.
• Manage and maintain critical system datasets (e.g., SYSRES, Page datasets, SMF datasets).
• Provide expert‑level support for mainframe incidents, including problem determination, diagnosis, and resolution in a timely manner.
• Analyze system performance data to identify bottlenecks and recommend improvements.
• Tune various z/OS components, WLM (Workload Manager), and ISV products to optimize resource utilization and application performance.
• Support DR planning, setup, IPL testing, replication technologies (e.g., GDPS), and DR event execution.
• Analyze system logs, sysout, dumps, and diagnostic data for complex issues.
• Participate in on‑call rotation for 24/7 support of critical systems.

Essential skills/knowledge/experience:

• In-depth knowledge and hands‑on experience with z/OS operating system installation, configuration, and maintenance.
• Proven experience with major z/OS upgrades
• Extensive experience with the installation and support of various ISV products from vendors such as Broadcom/CA, BMC, IBM, and Rocket Software
• Hands‑on experience with IBM Z mainframe hardware including CPCs, LPAR configuration, HMC/SE operation, IOCDS/IODF management, FICON channels, OSA, Coupling Facility structures, and hardware upgrades or migration

Desirable skills/knowledge/experience:

• Understanding of automation tools such as OPS/MVS, System Automation, Automation Point, and integration of alerts/monitoring across enterprise operations
• Familiarity with ZEKE Scheduler to support operations teams and diagnose JES/workload issues.
• Exposure to large enterprises or regulated environments