Mainframe Engineering Manager

First Citizens; Raleigh (NC); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

First Citizens Bank seeks an experienced Mainframe Engineering Manager to lead a team of engineers, systems programmers, and platform specialists supporting IBM Z infrastructure that hosts critical business applications and data.

The role drives modernization, automation, SRE adoption, capacity planning, security compliance, and cost optimization, partnering with application development, cybersecurity, architecture, cloud, and vendors to keep the mainframe secure and resilient.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.
• 10+ years of IBM Z infrastructure experience.
• 5+ years of people leadership experience.
• Experience leading large-scale modernization initiatives.
• Experience integrating mainframe environments with cloud platforms.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of Mainframe Systems Engineers, Systems Programmers, and Technical Specialists.
• Define and execute the strategic roadmap for IBM Z infrastructure and related platform services.
• Drive workforce planning, talent development, succession planning, and skills transformation.
• Establish operational excellence metrics and service level objectives (SLOs).
• Manage budgets, vendor relationships, software licensing, and third-party service providers.
• Communicate platform strategy, risks, and opportunities to executive leadership.
• Implement Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) and Platform Engineering principles.
• Drive operational efficiency through automation and self-service capabilities.
• Lead modernization initiatives integrating mainframe workloads with: Hybrid cloud platforms, API ecosystems, Enterprise integration platforms, Containerized environments.
• Support DevOps and CI/CD practices across distributed and mainframe environments.
• Champion Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and platform automation.
• Evaluate emerging technologies including AIOps, observability, and AI-enabled operations.
• Oversee disaster recovery and business continuity strategies.
• Ensure compliance with RTO and RPO objectives.
• Lead high-availability architecture planning.
• Manage capacity, performance tuning, and workload optimization.
• Conduct root cause analysis for major incidents.

Skills

Team leadership

IBM Z / Mainframe expertise

Automation & SRE

DevOps integration

IaC

Cloud integration

Security/compliance

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field

High School Diploma or GED/Equivalent

Tools

GDPS

Parallel Sysplex

Global Mirror

Encryption technologies

AIOps

Hybrid cloud platforms

AWS

Azure

IBM Watson/Frontier AI

Job description

Overview

The Mainframe Engineering Manager leads the engineering, automation, reliability, security, and modernization of the enterprise mainframe platform. This role is responsible for managing a team of mainframe engineers, systems programmers, and platform specialists supporting IBM Z infrastructure that hosts critical business applications and data.

The manager drives platform stability, operational excellence, security compliance, automation, capacity planning, and modernization initiatives while integrating mainframe services into enterprise cloud, DevOps, AIOps, and infrastructure engineering strategies. This leader partners closely with application development, cybersecurity, architecture, cloud engineering, vendors, and business stakeholders to ensure the mainframe remains a secure, resilient, and cost-effective strategic platform.

Responsibilities & Qualifications

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Lead and develop a team of Mainframe Systems Engineers, Systems Programmers, and Technical Specialists.
• Define and execute the strategic roadmap for IBM Z infrastructure and related platform services.
• Drive workforce planning, talent development, succession planning, and skills transformation.
• Establish operational excellence metrics and service level objectives (SLOs).
• Manage budgets, vendor relationships, software licensing, and third-party service providers.
• Communicate platform strategy, risks, and opportunities to executive leadership.
• Implement Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) and Platform Engineering principles.
• Drive operational efficiency through automation and self-service capabilities.
• Lead modernization initiatives integrating mainframe workloads with:
  • Hybrid cloud platforms
  • API ecosystems
  • Enterprise integration platforms
  • Containerized environments
• Support DevOps and CI/CD practices across distributed and mainframe environments.
• Champion Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and platform automation.
• Evaluate emerging technologies including AIOps, observability, and AI-enabled operations.
• Oversee disaster recovery and business continuity strategies.
• Ensure compliance with RTO and RPO objectives.
• Lead high-availability architecture planning.
• Manage capacity, performance tuning, and workload optimization.
• Conduct root cause analysis for major incidents.

Minimum Required Education and Experience:

Bachelor's Degree and 8 years' experience OR High School Diploma or GED/Equivalent and 12 years' experience in Applications development, analysis or engineering

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.
• 10+ years of IBM Z infrastructure experience.
• 5+ years of people leadership experience.
• Experience leading large-scale modernization initiatives.
• Experience integrating mainframe environments with cloud platforms.

Technical experience with:

• GDPS and high availability solutions
• Parallel Sysplex architecture
• Metro/Global Mirror
• Encryption technologies
• Cyber resilience and recovery practices
• Automation & DevOps
• IBM Watson/Frontier AI
• Hybrid cloud integration

Industry certifications such as:

• IBM Certified System Programmer
• IBM Z Professional Certifications
• ITIL
• AWS/Azure Architect (preferred)
• Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)

Additional Information

Benefits are an integral part of total rewards and First Citizens Bank is committed to providing a competitive, thoughtfully designed and quality benefits program to meet the needs of our associates. More information can be found at https://jobs.firstcitizens.com/benefits.