Mainframe Systems Programmer (z/OS & z/VM)

Goodman Tech BPO OPC; Taguig; On-site; PHP 1,116,000 - 1,339,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Remote work

Office in Taguig

Job summary

Goodman Tech BPO OPC is seeking an experienced IBM Z mainframe specialist for a Canadian managed cloud and IT services environment. This is a three-month engagement to provide senior coverage behind the existing team on z/OS and z/VM platforms.

Remote, Philippines-based with the option to work from the Taguig office. You will handle escalated OS-level incidents, maintenance, and runbooks with a strong emphasis on reliable, hands-on readiness and clear communication.

Qualifications

• Substantial hands-on IBM Z / mainframe experience with depth across z/OS and z/VM.
• Full working knowledge of both z/OS and z/VM; describe your z/VM experience in your application.
• Strong command of z/OS fundamentals: JCL, TSO/ISPF, SDSF, system messages.
• Comfortable on z15 or z16 hardware generations.
• Ability to explain your reasoning clearly to another technical person over screen share, in English, at pace.
• Strong written and spoken English.
• Willing to work a night shift aligned to North American Eastern Time.
• Available for occasional genuine after-hours escalations.
• Free of any conflicting employment or contractual obligations for the duration of the engagement.

Responsibilities

• Provide escalated support for IBM Z environments running z/OS and z/VM.
• Diagnose and resolve OS-level incidents — abends, job failures, performance degradation.
• Support IPLs, system start-up/shutdown, and recovery procedures.
• Maintain z/OS system software: SMP/E installs, PTF application, maintenance windows.
• Administer z/VM — guest definitions, directory maintenance, resource allocation.
• Assist storage and tape management, console operations, and automation.
• Work over screen share with the client's administrators to build depth on the platform.
• Acknowledge escalations within 15 to 30 minutes during coverage window.
• Take defined project work on the platform alongside reactive support.
• Write and maintain runbooks, incident notes, and platform documentation.
• Be reachable for genuine after-hours emergencies; rare, but required.

Skills

IBM Z depth

z/OS & z/VM

JCL & SDSF

z15/z16 hardware

Screen share communication

English proficiency

Night shift EST

No conflicts

Mentoring experience

Tools

SMP/E maintenance

RACF/ACF2

Control-M/CA-7

SYSVIEW/MainView

DFSMS

Hosting experience

Job description

The engagement

A Canadian managed cloud and IT services provider runs IBM Z — z15 and z16 hardware, under z/OS and z/VM — as a hosted platform serving their own enterprise clients.

Their mainframe group is losing depth to retirement, and the platform is famously hard to hire for. This is an initial three-month engagement to establish reliable senior coverage behind their remaining team: the person they reach when something on the platform needs someone who genuinely knows it.

Three months is the starting commitment, not the ceiling. If the coverage proves out — and the underlying need is structural, not temporary — there is a clear path to extension or to a longer-term seat.

Where you sit

Third line. The client's operations team handles monitoring around the clock. Their own administrator takes the first call and escalates to their manager, who decides whether it comes to you. Volume is low by design — but when something reaches you, it has already defeated two people who know the environment.

Readiness is the deliverable. Much of the value here is being genuinely available and genuinely capable when the call comes, on a platform where that combination is scarce. This is not a high-ticket-count role, and we will not measure you on one.

Scope — what is and isn't yours

The boundaries are firm and worth understanding before you apply:

• In scope: the operating system layer — z/OS and z/VM

• Not in scope: hardware, which is maintained by the hardware vendor and never touched by the client or by us

• Not in scope: the applications running on the platform, which belong to the client's own end customers

This is systems and operating-system work. Not hardware. Not application development.

What you'll do

• Provide escalated support for IBM Z environments running z/OS and z/VM

• Diagnose and resolve OS-level incidents — system messages, abends, job failures, performance degradation

• Support IPLs, system start-up and shutdown, and recovery procedures

• Maintain z/OS system software: SMP/E installs, PTF application, maintenance windows

• Administer z/VM — guest definitions, directory maintenance, resource allocation

• Support storage and tape management, console operations, and automation

• Work over screen share with the client's own administrators, walking them through diagnosis and resolution as they build their own depth on the platform. You will often be guiding hands rather than being them

• Acknowledge escalations within 15 to 30 minutes during the coverage window

• Take defined project work on the platform alongside the reactive support

• Write and maintain runbooks, incident notes, and platform documentation that outlast the engagement

• Be reachable for genuine after-hours emergencies outside the standard window — rare, because the client's operations team monitors overnight, but the commitment is real

What you need

Required

• Substantial hands-on IBM Z / mainframe experience — we care about depth, not years on a CV

• Full working knowledge of both z/OS and z/VM. Both, not either — this is the singular hardest requirement to meet and the reason the role exists. Describe your z/VM experience specifically in your application

• Command of z/OS fundamentals — JCL, TSO/ISPF, SDSF, system messages and codes

• Comfortable on z15 or z16 hardware generations

• Able to explain your reasoning clearly to another technical person over a screen share, in English, at pace

• Strong written and spoken English

• Willing to work a night shift aligned to North American Eastern Time

• Available for occasional genuine after-hours escalations

• Free of any conflicting employment or contractual obligation for the duration of the engagement, and able to confirm that in writing

Certification is not required. Demonstrated hands-on depth on the platform matters far more to us than a credential — this is the client's stated position, not just ours.

Strongly preferred

• SMP/E maintenance and system software installation

• RACF or ACF2 security administration

• Job scheduling — Control‑M, CA‑7, or TWS

• Monitoring tooling — OMEGAMON, MainView, or SYSVIEW

• DFSMS storage and tape management

• Experience in a hosting, service provider, or shared‑services environment where the mainframe serves multiple end clients

• Any experience mentoring or knowledge‑transferring to less experienced platform staff

Engagement terms

• ₱100,000 – ₱120,000 per month, depending on depth — particularly on z/VM

• Initial three-month engagement, with a clear path to extension or a longer-term seat

• Independent contractor engagement with Goodman Tech BPO OPC; paid monthly in PHP against invoice, subject to applicable withholding

• Remote, Philippines‑based, with the option to use our BGC, Taguig office

• Direct exposure to a Canadian enterprise client, with your work visible to the people who own the platform

Work setup

• Night shift, approximately 9:00 PM – 6:00 AM PHT, Monday to Friday, aligned to Eastern Time business hours

• Occasional scheduled maintenance windows and rare after‑hours escalations

• Remote‑first