Senior Middleware Engineer

Guardian Life Insurance; Holmdel Township (NJ); On-site; USD 86,000 - 142,000; Full time

Job summary

Guardian Life Insurance is seeking a senior middleware engineer to helm enterprise messaging platforms. You will manage IBM MQ with high availability, cluster configurations, and DR capabilities while maintaining secure integrations with WebSphere, Tomcat, and Java applications.

The role emphasizes automation, cross-team collaboration, and incident resolution. Ideal candidates have 7+ years of middleware experience, strong Linux/Unix scripting skills, and familiarity with DevOps tools and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, IT, engineering, or equivalent experience.
• 7+ years of middleware engineering or admin experience for enterprise apps.
• Hands-on IBM MQ v9.3/v9.4 install/config/upgrade/migration/security tuning.
• IBM MQ Native High Availability deployment, failover testing, monitoring.
• Designing HA/DR architectures for enterprise messaging platforms.
• MQ clustering, distributed queuing, pub/sub patterns.
• End-to-end security for messaging/integration tech.
• Integrating IBM MQ with WebSphere App Server, Tomcat, App Connect/Integration Bus, and Java apps.
• WebSphere ND and Apache Tomcat admin experience.
• Troubleshooting MQ/WebSphere/Tomcat/JVM, deployments, connectivity, security.
• Linux/Unix administration and shell scripting for automation.
• DevOps/automation tools: Jenkins, Ansible, Puppet, GitHub, GitLab.
• Exposure to AWS and hybrid-cloud middleware architectures.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate across application, infrastructure, cloud, cybersecurity, compliance, network, and operations teams.
• Engineer and operate secure, resilient IBM MQ services including HA, clustering, and DR.
• Administer and improve WAS and Tomcat platforms: config, patching, upgrades, integrations, production support.
• Automate provisioning, configuration, validation, monitoring, and ops tasks with scripting and pipelines.
• Lead complex middleware troubleshooting, root-cause analysis and durable corrective actions.
• Deliver middleware solutions aligned with enterprise standards and risk requirements.

Education

Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related discipline

Tools

IBM MQ

WebSphere MQ/AS

Apache Tomcat

Jenkins

Ansible

Puppet

GitHub

GitLab

AWS

Linux/Unix

Job description

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
• 7+ years of middleware engineering or administration experience supporting mission-critical enterprise applications.
• Extensive hands-on experience with IBM MQ v9.3/v9.4, including installation, configuration, upgrades, migrations, security hardening, performance tuning, and enterprise production support.
• Strong experience with IBM MQ Native High Availability, including deployment, administration, failover testing, troubleshooting, monitoring, patching, and production support.
• Experience designing and supporting high availability and disaster recovery architectures for enterprise messaging platforms.
• Experience with MQ clustering, distributed queuing, publish/subscribe, and enterprise messaging patterns.
• Expertise implementing end-to-end security for messaging and integration technologies.
• Experience integrating IBM MQ with IBM WebSphere Application Server, Apache Tomcat, IBM App Connect Enterprise or IBM Integration Bus, and enterprise Java applications.
• Strong working knowledge of IBM WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment and Apache Tomcat administration and support.
• Strong troubleshooting skills across MQ, WebSphere, Tomcat, Java Virtual Machines, application deployments, connectivity, performance, and security.
• Proficiency with Linux or Unix administration and shell scripting for automation and operational efficiency.
• Experience with DevOps and automation tools such as Jenkins, Ansible, Puppet, GitHub, or GitLab.
• Exposure to Amazon Web Services and hybrid-cloud middleware architectures.

Preferred Qualifications

• IBM Certified MQ Administrator certification.
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate or equivalent cloud certification.
• Experience with Splunk, AppDynamics, Amazon CloudWatch, or comparable observability platforms.
• Experience supporting middleware modernization, cloud migration, or platform transformation initiatives.

You Will

• Enterprise-wide collaboration with application, infrastructure, cloud, cybersecurity, compliance, network, and operations teams.
• Engineer and operate secure, resilient IBM MQ services, including Native High Availability, clustering, distributed messaging, and disaster recovery capabilities.
• Administer and improve IBM WebSphere Application Server and Apache Tomcat platforms, including configuration, patching, upgrades, integrations, performance, and production support.
• Automate provisioning, configuration, validation, monitoring, and operational tasks using scripting, DevOps pipelines, and configuration-management tools.
• Lead technical troubleshooting for complex middleware incidents and problems, complete root-cause analysis, and implement durable corrective and preventive actions.
• Collaborate across application, infrastructure, cloud, network, cybersecurity, compliance, and operations teams to deliver middleware solutions aligned with enterprise standards, technology strategy, risk requirements, and business priorities.

Salary Range:

$86,210.00 - $141,635.00

The salary range reflected above is a good faith estimate of base pay for the primary location of the position. The salary for this position ultimately will be determined based on the education, experience, knowledge, and abilities of the successful candidate. In addition to salary, this role may also be eligible for annual, sales, or other incentive compensation.

Our Promise

At Guardian, you’ll have the support and flexibility to achieve your professional and personal goals. Through skill-building, leadership development and philanthropic opportunities, we provide opportunities to build communities and grow your career, surrounded by diverse colleagues with high ethical standards.

Inspire Well-Being

As part of Guardian’s Purpose - to inspire well-being, we are committed to offering contemporary, supportive, flexible, and inclusive benefits and resources to our colleagues. Explore our company benefits at www.guardianlife.com/careers/corporate/benefits. Benefits apply to full-time eligible employees. Interns are not eligible for most Company benefits.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Guardian is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to age, race, color, creed, religion, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, marital status, disability, military or veteran status, or any other classification protected by applicable law.

Accommodations

Guardian is committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities.Guardian also provides reasonable accommodations to qualified job applicants (and employees) to accommodate the individual’s known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless doing so would create an undue hardship. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact [e-mail]. Please note: this resource is for accommodation requests only. For all other inquires related to your application and careers at Guardian, refer to the Guardian Careers site.

Visa Sponsorship

Guardian Life is not currently or in the foreseeable future sponsoring employment-based visas (e.g., such as an H-1B). In order to be a successful applicant, you must be legally authorized to work in the United States, without the need for employer sponsorship/support now or at any time in the future.

Notice Regarding Guardian’s Use of Artificial Intelligence in Recruitment

As part of Guardian’s job application process, Guardian may use artificial intelligence tools (“AI Tools”) to automate the sorting and filtering of information provided by applicants as part of its preliminary screening. This preliminary screening may be used to help identify applicant materials and resumes relative to their indication that the applicant meets the requirements for the specific job for which they are applying, as specified in the listing posted on Guardian’s jobs website (Careers at Guardian at https://www.guardianlife.com/careers). At Guardian, we do not use AI Tools to substantially assist or replace human judgment or discretionary decision making in our hiring process. All hiring decisions will be made by Guardian colleagues.

Please be aware that if you apply for a specific position with Guardian, you will have the choice of opting out of Guardian’s use of AI Tools during the job application process. If you would like to request an alternative process that does not utilize AI Tools or would like to request a reasonable accommodation, within ten business days of your position application, you must email your request to [e-mail], making sure to provide your name and job requisition identification number. Guardian will retain your applicant materials and resume and all information therefrom in accordance with Guardian’s document retention policy, a copy of which you may request via [e-mail].

Additionally, at applicable times, Guardian will make public the most recent bias audit results for such AI tools, which may be found here.