Senior Mainframe CICS System Administrator (MQ)- Remote

Alliance IT; United States; Remote; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Alliance IT seeks a senior IBM Mainframe Administrator to lead and maintain our CICS TS environments across multiple production LPARs. You will upgrade regions, manage CICSPlex SM, and ensure system health using RMF and OMEGAMON.

Ideal candidates bring 15+ years of Mainframe experience, strong JCL/VSAM knowledge, RACF security, and SMP/E proficiency. Join a team coordinating with DB2/IMS/MQ and DR planning.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience administering IBM Mainframe environments.
• Hands-on with IBM CICS TS 5.3/5.5/5.6.
• Deep knowledge of z/OS, MVS, JES2, USS.
• Create/maintain CICS Regions, CSD using CEDA, CEMT, and CICS Explorer.
• CICSPlex SM administration and workload management.
• Proficient in JCL, PROC libraries, GDGs, SORT, IDCAMS, IEBGENER, IEFBR14.
• Experience with TSO/ISPF, SDSF, IOF, File-AID, SPUFI, QMF.
• Strong VSAM, SMS, DFSMS, DFHSM, zFS, and storage mgmt.
• RACF security, started task IDs, dataset security, keyring mgmt.
• SMP/E including PTF/APAR/RSU.
• Experience with DB2, IMS, IBM MQ in CICS environments.
• Knowledge of CA7 or Tivoli Workload Scheduler (TWS).
• Using monitoring tools OMEGAMON, RMF, SMF, NetView, IBM Health Checker.
• Troubleshooting CICS regions, JCL, storage, and performance.

Responsibilities

• Administer and support IBM CICS TS environments across production LPARs.
• Install, configure, maintain, and upgrade CICS regions and related software.
• Manage CICS resource definitions with CEDA, CEMT, and CSD.
• Configure CICSPlex SM for workload balancing and region mgmt.
• Perform SMP/E maintenance including PTF/APAR/RSU.
• Monitor system health with OMEGAMON, RMF, and SMF.
• Troubleshoot CICS transactions, abends, storage, and batch issues.
• Develop and maintain JCL and automation scripts (REXX/CLIST).
• Administer RACF security, SSL/TLS, and access controls.
• Manage VSAM datasets, storage allocation, backups, and DR.
• Support CA7/TWS scheduling and optimize batch processing.
• Coordinate production implementations and IPLs; maintain windows.
• Collaborate with apps, DBAs, networks, and infra teams to resolve issues.
• Contribute to 24x7 production support and on-call rotations.
• Prepare technical docs, runbooks, and standards.

Skills

Mainframe administration

CICS TS

z/OS

MVS

JES2

USS

CICS Regions

CSD

CEDA

CEMT

CICS Explorer

CICSPlex SM

JCL

PROC libraries

GDGs

SORT utilities

IDCAMS

IEBGENER

IEFBR14

TSO/ISPF

SDSF

IOF

File-AID

SPUFI

QMF

VSAM

SMS

DFSMS

DFHSM

zFS

Storage management

RACF security

Started task IDs

Dataset security

Keyring management

SMP/E

PTF/APAR/RSU

DB2

IMS

IBM MQ

CA7/CA Workload Automation

Tivoli Workload Scheduler (TWS)

OMEGAMON

RMF

SMF

NetView

IBM Health Checker

Troubleshooting

Tools

CICSPlex SM

Job description

Required Skills

• 15+ years of experience administering IBM Mainframe environments.


• Strong hands-on experience with IBM CICS Transaction Server (TS 5.3/5.5/5.6).


• Extensive knowledge of z/OS , MVS , JES2 , and UNIX System Services (USS).


• Experience creating and maintaining CICS Regions , CSD , and resource definitions using CEDA , CEMT , and CICS Explorer.


• Hands-on experience with CICSPlex SM administration and workload management.


• Strong knowledge of JCL, PROC libraries, GDGs, SORT utilities, IDCAMS, IEBGENER, and IEFBR14.


• Experience with TSO/ISPF , SDSF , IOF , File-AID , SPUFI , and QMF.


• Strong knowledge of VSAM (KSDS, ESDS, RRDS), SMS, DFSMS, DFHSM, zFS, and storage management.


• Experience administering RACF security, started task IDs, dataset security, and keyring management.


• Experience with SMP/E, including PTF, APAR, RSU installation, and maintenance.


• Experience supporting DB2 , IMS , and IBM MQ integrated CICS environments.


• Knowledge of CA7/CA Workload Automation or Tivoli Workload Scheduler (TWS).


• Experience using monitoring tools such as OMEGAMON , RMF , SMF , NetView, and IBM Health Checker.


• Strong troubleshooting skills for CICS regions, JCL failures, storage issues, and system performance.

Key Responsibilities

• Administer and support IBM CICS Transaction Server environments across multiple production LPARs.


• Install, configure, maintain, and upgrade CICS regions and related system software.


• Manage CICS resource definitions using CEDA, CEMT, and CSD.


• Configure and maintain CICSPlex SM for workload balancing and region management.


• Perform system maintenance using SMP/E, including PTF, APAR, and RSU implementation.


• Monitor system health, availability, and performance using OMEGAMON, RMF, and SMF.


• Troubleshoot CICS transaction failures, abends, storage issues, and batch processing problems.


• Develop and maintain JCL, automation scripts (REXX/CLIST), and operational procedures.


• Administer RACF security, SSL/TLS configurations, and access controls.


• Manage VSAM datasets, storage allocation, backups, recovery, and disaster recovery procedures.


• Support CA7/TWS scheduling and optimize enterprise batch processing.


• Coordinate production implementations, IPL activities, and planned maintenance windows.


• Work closely with application developers, database administrators, network teams, and infrastructure teams to resolve production issues.


• Participate in 24x7 production support and on-call rotations.


• Prepare technical documentation, operational runbooks, and system standards.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting Banking, Financial Services, Insurance, or Utilities environments.


• IBM z/OS Systems Administration certification.


• IBM CICS System Administration certification.


• Experience with PCI DSS, SOC 2, NERC CIP, or other regulated environments.


• Knowledge of Disaster Recovery, High Availability, and Capacity Planning.


• Experience with CICS Web Services, TLS/SSL, and API integrations.


• Familiarity with automation using REXX, CLIST, or shell scripting.

Technical Environment

• IBM z/OS


• IBM CICS Transaction Server (TS 5.3, 5.5, 5.6)


• CICSPlex SM


• JES2


• MVS


• UNIX System Services (USS)


• JCL


• TSO/ISPF


• SDSF


• IOF


• File-AID


• SPUFI


• QMF


• REXX


• CLIST


• VSAM


• DFSMS


• DFHSM


• SMS


• RACF


• SMP/E


• IBM MQ


• DB2


• IMS


• OMEGAMON


• RMF


• SMF


• NetView


• IBM Health Checker


• CA7


• Tivoli Workload Scheduler (TWS)


• IDCAMS


• DFSORT


• IEBGENER


• IEFBR14

Nice-to-Have Skills

• CICS Web Services


• CICS Explorer


• IBM Z Performance Tuning


• Capacity Planning


• SSL/TLS Configuration


• ServiceNow


• Change Management


• Automation using REXX and CLIST


• Production Operations Support


• Disaster Recovery Testing