Sr Mainframe Systems Programmer

American Greetings Corporation; Westlake (OH); On-site; USD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading greeting card company is seeking a Sr. Mainframe Systems Programmer to focus on the engineering, operations, and planning of the mainframe environment. This role requires extensive expertise in IBM z/OS and associated third-party software. Responsibilities include leading installations, capacity planning, and performance tuning. Candidates should have experience with disaster recovery planning and be able to mentor junior staff. This position is hybrid and prefers candidates residing in Northeast Ohio.

Qualifications

• Strong knowledge of mainframe infrastructure and operations.
• Proven experience with IBM z/OS and associated software.
• Experience in disaster recovery and performance tuning.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a subject matter expert for the mainframe platform.
• Lead installation and configuration of IBM z/OS software.
• Drive capacity planning and resource optimization.

Skills

Mainframe technical expertise

IBM z/OS operations

Performance tuning

Disaster recovery planning

Mentoring skills

Capacity planning

Tools

IBM z/OS

TopSecret

CA-Disk

BMC AMI Storage

CICS

JobTrac

Job description

As this is a hybrid role based out of our Creative Studios in Westlake, Ohio, we will focus on candidates who currently reside in Northeast Ohio.

The Sr. Mainframe Systems programmer is responsible for the overall engineering, operations, and planning of the mainframe, IBM z/OS operating system software and all other IBM and third-party software.

This is not an application development role, it is a deep technical infrastructure position focused on the performance, stability, and configuration of the mainframe environment.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Function as the subject matter expert for the mainframe platform to provide technical expertise and support to infrastructure, applications and third-party teams.
• Lead the planning, installation, configuration, customization, and testing of IBM z/OS and all third-party mainframe software packages such as TopSecret, CA-1, CA-Disk, BMC AMI Storage, Endevor, MIM, VPS, and various associated products.
• Perform CICS administration.
• JobTrac application administration.
• Drive capacity planning and resource optimization for the mainframe, storage and tape management systems.
• Ability to evaluate specifications and features of new products, performing cost comparisons, feasibility and cost benefit analysis, performance, compatibility and testing to make recommendations.
• Mentor less experienced Mainframe System Administrators including assigning work, reviewing work for adherence to standards, and providing technical guidance.
• Assist with the overall disaster recovery planning and annual testing for the mainframe and storage replication services.
• Identify and plan for the use of new technologies and capabilities including Linux and cloud-ready capabilities to improve optimized use of the mainframe platform.
• Perform performance data collection, analysis, and the tuning of the z/OS operating system and associated applications.
• Develop standards and procedures that support current and future operational needs with a focus on continuous improvement and automation on the mainframe environment.
• Work closely with the corporate IT leadership to develop and implement new technology and solutions.
• Assist with the planning and delivery of all major software upgrades, system maintenance activities, technical patching and hardware refresh initiatives for the mainframe environment.
• Manage and drive IT service delivery and management disciplines with the mainframe and data center operations teams including incident, change and problem management.
• Review technical requirements and solutions to ensure that mainframe security requirements are addressed and are in line with corporate standards.
• Provide engineering and support of the enterprise scheduling packages including the training and development of process documentation for the scheduling and data center operations teams.
• Assist the client security team with the provision of system and application access to mainframe hosted applications.
• Work closely with manufacturing and distribution locations to install, configure and support printer hardware and software administration.