Senior CICS System Programmer

Luxoft; United Kingdom; Remote; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading IT services firm in the United Kingdom is seeking a CICS System Programmer to ensure optimal performance and reliability of IBM CICS environments. Responsibilities include installation, maintenance, and security compliance, as well as disaster recovery planning. The ideal candidate will have significant experience with CICS and strong analytical skills, working collaboratively with development and operations teams.

Qualifications

• Proven experience with installation and administration of IBM CICS Transaction Server.
• Strong knowledge of SMP/E for maintenance and upgrades.
• Experience in performance tuning and problem resolution.

Responsibilities

• Install, configure, and maintain CICS Transaction Server and related components.
• Conduct performance monitoring and tuning of CICS systems.
• Implement security controls within CICS environments.

Skills

IBM CICS Transaction Server installation

SMP/E for software maintenance

Performance tuning

RACF and DB2 access controls

Disaster Recovery planning

Analytical and troubleshooting skills

Tools

ServiceNow

Remedy

Job description

Project description

The CICS System Programmer is responsible for the installation, maintenance, performance tuning, and support of IBM CICS and related mainframe products. This role ensures high availability, optimal performance, and secure operation of CICS environments. The candidate will collaborate closely with other IT teams, application developers, and vendors to deliver stable and efficient transaction processing systems.

Responsibilities

• Installation and Maintenance: Install, configure, upgrade, and maintain CICS Transaction Server and associated sub-products. Perform build and deletion of CICS regions as required. Apply maintenance and fixes using SMP/E and related IBM mainframe utilities. Uninstall obsolete or superseded CICS components following change management standards.
• System Administration and Performance: Conduct performance monitoring and tuning of CICS regions to ensure optimal transaction response times. Perform problem determination and root cause analysis, providing timely resolutions. Execute proactive and corrective tuning measures to improve system performance and reliability.
• Security and Compliance: Implement and maintain RACF and DB2 access controls within CICS environments. Ensure compliance with security standards and participate in audit and security reviews. Configure and manage web-enabled CICS services securely.
• Disaster Recovery and Availability: Participate in Disaster Recovery (DR) planning, testing, and execution. Ensure backup and recovery strategies align with corporate continuity policies. Provide 24x7 on‑call support for service restoration, problem resolution, and system recovery.
• Change and Incident Management: Perform basic change management functions including ticket handling, approvals, and documentation. Lead or participate in client-driven and internal upgrade projects, ensuring minimal downtime. Escalate SEV1 and SEV2 incidents to vendors when necessary and track resolution progress.
• Collaboration and Leadership: Work with application developers, DBAs, network, and storage teams to coordinate cross‑system changes. Lead moderately complex projects, such as environment upgrades or platform migrations. Provide technical guidance and mentoring to junior system programmers or operations staff.

SKILLS

Must have

• Proven experience with IBM CICS Transaction Server installation, customization, and administration. Strong knowledge of SMP/E for software maintenance and product upgrades. Experience in problem determination, performance tuning, and web-enabling CICS. Solid understanding of mainframe security (RACF) and DB2 access controls. Experience with Disaster Recovery planning and testing. Familiarity with change management tools and incident tracking systems (e.g., ServiceNow, Remedy). Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and documentation skills. Excellent communication and collaboration abilities.

Nice to have

Knowledge of REXX and Assembler programming for automation and diagnostic scripting. Exposure to z/OSMF, Zowe, or DevOps automation tools for mainframe environments.