Mainframe Operations Technical Leader

Veriipro; Plano (TX); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Veriipro is seeking a seasoned professional in Mainframe Operations based in Plano, Texas. The ideal candidate will possess over 10 years of experience in system programming, incident management, and performance tuning for z/OS, DB2, IMS, CICS, and MQ.

Responsibilities include leading platform availability, managing software upgrades, and ensuring audit compliance. Candidates should have strong communication skills and familiarity with IBM tooling. This role offers an opportunity to work in a dynamic environment focused on continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in Mainframe Operations/System Programming (z/OS, DB2, IMS, CICS, MQ).
• Leadership in incident management and platform upgrades.
• Expertise in IBM tooling: SMP/E, RACF, JES2/3.
• Experience in performance tuning and workload management.
• Scripting/automation experience: Rexx, JCL; Python is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Own 24x7 platform availability and lead major incidents.
• Plan and execute vendor-supported upgrades; maintain software currency.
• Tune performance and optimize workloads.
• Ensure audit readiness and enforce access controls.
• Define operational roadmaps and collaborate with teams.
• Triage incidents and ensure batch and SLA compliance.

Skills

Mainframe Operations

DB2

IMS

CICS

MQ

Leadership

Performance tuning

Scripting/automation

IBM tooling

Strong communication

Tools

z/OS

RACF

Ansible

Job description

Roles and Responsibilities

• Own 24x7 platform availability and SLA adherence; lead major incidents, problem management, and post-incident RCAs; enforce runbooks and audit-ready change management.
• Plan and execute vendor-supported upgrades; maintain software currency, PTF/RSU adoption, and security compliance; validate subsystem interdependencies.
• Tune performance (DB2, IMS, CICS, MQ); optimize workloads, batch windows, and WLM; drive automation and observability to reduce manual toil.
• Ensure audit readiness, enforce access controls, maintain configuration baselines, and conduct BCP/DR exercises.
• Define operational roadmaps, OKRs, and executive summaries; collaborate with applications and business teams; mentor staff and promote continuous improvement.
• Triage incidents, approve service requests, perform health checks, validate backups/restores, and ensure batch and SLA compliance.

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years in Mainframe Operations/System Programming (z/OS, DB2, IMS, CICS, MQ).
• Leadership in incident management, platform upgrades, and audit-compliant change management.
• Expertise in IBM tooling: SMP/E, PARMLIB/PROCLIB, ISPF, RACF, SDSF, JES2/3, OMEGAMON/IBM Z Observability, IWS/TWS/IWA, ChangeMan.
• Performance tuning, workload management, CAP/DR, and security hardening experience.
• Scripting/automation: Rexx, JCL; Python on z/OS or Ansible for z/OS a plus.
• Strong communication for executive summaries, runbooks, and RCAs.

Preferred Qualifications

• IBM z16 experience; DB2/IMS upgrades; MQ clustering and backlog resolution.
• DevOps/mainframe CI/CD exposure; observability platforms.
• Certifications: IBM z/OS, DB2, CICS, MQ; ITIL, COBIT; ISO/PCI/SOX compliance.

Tools & Environment

z/OS, DB2, IMS, CICS, MQ, JES2/3; Workload Scheduler/Automation; ChangeMan; RACF/ACF2/Top Secret; OMEGAMON, RMF/SMF, IBM Z Observability; Rexx/CLIST, JCL, Ansible (optional).