Mainframe Storage & Virtual Tape Administrator

Page Mechanical Group, Inc.; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Page Mechanical Group, Inc. is seeking a senior storage administrator to manage IBM z/OS DASD, tape libraries, and virtual tape systems. You will ensure high availability, data integrity, and disaster recovery readiness for enterprise storage infrastructures.

You will monitor capacity, performance, and I/O, coordinate with vendors for hardware and firmware updates, and uphold ITIL-aligned incident management standards across the mainframe storage environment.

Qualifications

• Minimum 6+ years dedicated experience in IBM z/OS Mainframe Storage Administration.
• Advanced proficiency with DFSMS, IDCAMS, and catalog management utilities.
• Hands-on operational mastery of enterprise DASD storage arrays, IBM SL4000 automated tape libraries, and Luminex Virtual Tape (MVT/CGX/LTMon).
• Strong competency with TSO/ISPF, SDSF, JCL, and JES2 commands.
• Proven experience adhering to enterprise ITIL incident management SLAs (e.g., ServiceNow).

Responsibilities

• Monitor, administer, allocate, and manage mainframe DASD resources across SMS storage groups, volumes, and user pools.
• Perform continuous capacity forecasting, utilization tracking, availability verification, and I/O performance monitoring to avert space exhaustion.
• Investigate and resolve DASD-related allocation failures, out-of-space abends (SB37, SD37, SE37), abnormal catalog states, and volume fragmentation.
• Maintain enterprise tape operations, catalog retention rules, and physical library health.
• Coordinate tape hardware failures, drive replacements, firmware updates, and scheduled maintenance with infra teams and OEMs.
• Administer, monitor, and troubleshoot Luminex MVT systems and CGX components; monitor replication links and DR readiness.

Skills

Mainframe storage administration

ITIL incident management

RACF security

Tools

DFSMS

IDCAMS

Catalog management utilities

IBMSL4000

Luminex MVT/CGX/LTMon

TSO/ISPF

SDSF

JCL

JES2

Job description

1. SCOPEOFWORK&PURPOSE

TheContractorshallprovidededicated,hands-onseniortechnicaladministrationandoperationalsupportfortheenterpriseIBMz/ OS mainframe storage ecosystem. The Contractor is responsible for maintaining high availability, capacity health, performance, dataintegrity,anddisasterrecoveryreadinessacrossenterpriseDirectAccessStorageDevices(DASD),automatedphysicaltape libraries, and virtual tape subsystems.

2. DETAILEDTECHNICALRESPONSIBILITIES

2.1. DASDAdministration&CapacityManagement

• Monitoring&Allocation: Monitor,administer,allocate,andmanagemainframeDASDresourcesacrossallSMSstorage groups, volumes, and user pools.
• Capacity&UtilizationAnalytics: Performcontinuouscapacityforecasting,utilizationtracking,availabilityverification,andI/O performance monitoring to avert space exhaustion.
• SpaceIncidentResolution: InvestigateandresolveDASD-relatedallocationfailures,out-of-spaceabends(SB37,SD37, SE37), abnormal catalog states, and volume fragmentation.
• VolumeLifecycleSupport: Executevolumeinitialization,pooladditions,datamigration,volumeconsolidation, defragmentation, and decommission activities.
• WorkloadSafeguarding: Proactivelyidentifyandeliminatestoragebottlenecksthatmaydegradeonlinesystems(CICS,DB2), production databases, or critical batch cycles.

2.2. EnterpriseTape&IBMSL4000TapeLibraryOperations

• TapeInfrastructureSupport: Maintainenterprisetapeoperations,catalogretentionrules,andphysicallibraryhardwarehealth.
• IBMSL4000Administration: Monitor,manage,andauditIBMSL4000automatedtapelibraryenvironments(orequivalent enterprise tape platform).
• Hardware&MountTroubleshooting: Investigateandresolvetapemounttimeouts,missing/unassignedvolumes,mediaread/ write errors, robotic arm faults, and drive hardware degradation.
• OEMVendorCoordination: Coordinatetapehardwarefailures,drivereplacements,firmwareupdates,andscheduled maintenance with internal infrastructure teams and OEM service vendors.

2.3. LuminexMainframeVirtualTape(MVT)&CGXAdministration

• VirtualTapePlatformSupport: Administer,monitor,andtroubleshootLuminexMainframeVirtualTape(MVT)systemsand Channel Gateway (CGX) components.
• Throughput&TelemetryOversight: Monitorchannelavailability,virtualdrivestates,backendSAN/NASstoragecapacity,data transfer throughput, and system error logs.
• OperationalTooling(LTMon): LeverageLuminexoperationaltooling(LTMonorequivalentutilities)formessageauditing, telemetry analysis, and channel health diagnostics.
• Replication&DRTesting: MonitorLuminexreplicationlinks,virtualtapesynchronizationhealth,recoveryreadiness,and participate in formal enterprise DR simulations.
• MediaLifecycle&Retention: Managevirtualscratchpools,VOLSERranges,retentionpolicies,andmaintainseamless coexistence with physical tape operations.
• OEMSupport&ConfigurationGovernance: Coordinatepatching,microcodeupdates,andincidentresolutionwithLuminex Technical Support; maintain architecture diagrams, inventories, configuration records, and operational runbooks.
• RiskAnalysis: Continuouslyassesssinglepointsoffailure,channellatency,backendstoragesaturation,andreplication backlog risks, recommending mitigation plans.

2.4. ProductionStorageBatch&WorkloadCollaboration

• StorageAbendRemediation: Rapidlytriagestorage-relatedovernightbatchfailures,allocationdelays,anddatasetlockupsto ensure uninterrupted batch completion.
• Early-MorningStabilization: Providehands-onearly-morningsupporttostabilizestoragepoolsandtapemountspriorto business start-of-day.
• WorkloadControlAlignment: CollaboratecloselywithWorkloadAutomation/ProductionControlpersonneltoremediate storage-related job halts and align dataset availability.
• Multi-TierEscalation: EscalatestorageissuesrequiringSystemsProgramming,RACFSecurity,databaseadministration,or third-party engineering support.

3. SECURITY,ACCESS&CHANGEGOVERNANCE

• RACFCompliance: OperatestrictlywithinestablishedRACFsecurityprofiles,datasetprotectionrules,andprivilegedaccess protocol.
• OperationalCoordination: MaintainthoroughcomprehensionofRACFsecuritydependenciestosafelycoordinatestorage volume maintenance without disrupting running workloads.
• ITILAlignment: AdheretoenterpriseITILprocessesforChange,Incident,andProblemManagement;documentRCAsand participate in change implementation reviews.

4. QUALIFICATIONS&TECHNICALCOMPETENCIES

• Experience: Minimum6+yearsdedicatedexperienceinIBMz/OSMainframeStorageAdministration.
• StorageSoftware: AdvancedproficiencywithDFSMS(DFSMSdfp,DFSMSdss,DFSMShsm,DFSMSrmm/CA-1),IDCAMS, and catalog management utilities.
• StorageHardware: Hands-onoperationalmasteryofenterpriseDASDstoragearrays,IBMSL4000automatedtapelibraries, and Luminex Virtual Tape (MVT/CGX/LTMon).
• OperatingEnvironment: StrongcompetencywithTSO/ISPF,SDSF,JCL,andJES2commands.
• IncidentGovernance: ProvenexperienceadheringtoenterpriseITILincidentmanagementSLAs(e.g.,ServiceNow).