Sr. Mainframe Systems Programmer & Python Engineer

Vibotek LLC; United States; On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Vibotek LLC in the United States seeks a Senior Python Engineer specialized in Mainframe (DB2/JCL). You will design and build Python on z/OS (USS), develop CLI tools, services, and batch utilities that run natively on z/OS USS or orchestrate mainframe jobs from distributed hosts.

Responsibilities include batch orchestration with JCL, DB2 for z/OS tuning, Python‑DB2 integration, data pipelines, and automation of job submission and monitoring using SDSF, z/OSMF REST, or Zowe CLI.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of professional Python development in production systems (CLI tools, services, or batch).
• Hands‑on Python on the mainframe (must‑have): comfortable with z/OS USS, TSO/ISPF, SDSF, OMVS, dataset concepts, encoding, and file I/O nuances.
• Mainframe DB2 for z/OS expertise: SQL tuning, indexing, access paths, and utilities.
• Familiar with SPUFI, DSNTEP2, IBM Data Studio (or equivalents).
• Deep JCL proficiency: PROCs, symbolic parms, condition codes, dataset allocation, DFSORT/ICETOOL, IDCAMS, and scheduler integration.

Responsibilities

• Design and build Python on z/OS (USS) and develop CLI tools, services, and batch utilities.
• Create and maintain JCL and integrate with enterprise schedulers; implement restart/recovery and error handling.
• Python‑DB2 integration: optimize connections, pooling, and transactional boundaries for high throughput.
• Develop data pipelines with Python (pandas, PyArrow, Dask) and ensure efficient I/O and streaming.

Skills

Python on mainframe

z/OS USS & TSO/ISPF

DB2 for z/OS

JCL & batch scripting

Batch orchestration (Control-M/CA-7)

CI/CD & Git

Shell scripting

Observability & SRE

Data processing (pandas, PyArrow)

Education

BS in Computer Science or equivalent

Tools

Zowe CLI

z/OSMF REST

IBM MQ

CICS

Control-M/CA-7

JES/SDSF

Job description

Senior Python Engineer — Mainframe (DB2/JCL) Design & build Python on z/OS (USS): Develop CLI tools, services, and batch utilities that run natively on z/OS Unix System Services (USS) or orchestrate mainframe jobs from distributed hosts.

Batch orchestration: Create and maintain JCL (PROCs, symbolics, condition codes, GDGs) and integrate with enterprise schedulers (e.g., Control‑M, CA‑7). Implement robust restart/recovery and step‑level error handling.

DB2 for z/OS engineering: Write and tune SQL; implement stored procedures; design schemas and indexes; use EXPLAIN, RUNSTATS, and utilities (LOAD/UNLOAD/REORG) to hit SLAs.

Python‑DB2 integration: Connect via ibm_db/CLI/ODBC and optimize connection pooling, cursor usage, and transaction boundaries for high‑throughput workloads.

Data processing pipelines (plus): Build high‑volume ETL/ELT flows with Python (e.g., pandas, PyArrow, Dask) and efficient I/O (binary formats, streaming, chunking).

Job submission & automation: Submit and monitor jobs via SDSF, z/OSMF REST APIs, or Zowe CLI; parse JES output; automate handoffs and notifications.

Reliability & observability: Implement structured logging, metrics, and tracing; integrate with enterprise monitoring (e.g., Splunk, ELK).

Testing & CI/CD: Enforce unit/integration tests (pytest), code reviews, linting/type hints (flake8/ruff/mypy), packaging, and CI/CD (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab).

Security & compliance: Follow RACF/Top Secret/ACF2 controls, least privilege, and data governance for PII/PCI/SOX environments.

Mentorship & documentation: Coach engineers on Python + mainframe best practices; produce clear runbooks and architecture docs.

Automation Toolchain

• Zowe CLI
• z/OSMF REST
• IBM Z Open Automation Utilities
• Ansible for z/OS

Required Qualifications

• 8+ years professional Python (3.x) building reliable, performant production systems (CLIs, services, or batch).
• Hands‑on Python on the mainframe (must‑have): Comfortable with z/OS USS, TSO/ISPF, SDSF, OMVS, dataset concepts (PS/PO, GDGs), code pages/EBCDIC vs ASCII, and file I/O nuances.
• Mainframe DB2 expertise: Strong DB2 for z/OS (SQL tuning, indexing strategies, access paths, utilities, locking & concurrency).
• Familiar with SPUFI, DSNTEP2, IBM Data Studio (or equivalents).

Deep JCL Proficiency

• PROCs, symbolic parms, condition codes, dataset allocation, DFSORT/ICETOOL, IDCAMS, and common utilities; experience wiring JCL into enterprise schedulers.

Scripting & OS

• Shell (sh/bash) on USS; comfort with dataset/file conversions, large file throughput, and job logs.

SDLC Discipline

• Git, trunk‑based development, code reviews, tickets/change management (e.g., Jira/ServiceNow).

Data‑processing Python

• pandas, PyArrow, Dask; memory/perf tuning for large datasets; binary formats (Parquet/Avro).

Integration

• IBM MQ, CICS, Kafka/CDC (e.g., IBM Data Replication), REST/gRPC services bridging z/OS and distributed.

Performance Engineering

• SMF insights, buffer pool tuning (with DBAs), batch window optimization.

Legacy Refactoring

• Translating COBOL/PL/I batch logic to Python where appropriate; creating safe migration paths.

Distributed Data Engines

• PySpark/Spark (for off‑platform processing), Airflow.

Observability & SRE

• SLA/SLO design, incident response for nightly/weekly batch cycles.

Environment (illustrative)

• Runtime: IBM z/OS 2.x, USS, TSO/ISPF, SDSF, RACF/Top Secret/ACF2
• Data: DB2 12/13 for z/OS; utilities (REORG/RUNSTATS/LOAD/UNLOAD)
• Python: 3.x, venv/poetry, ibm_db/ODBC, requests, pandas/PyArrow
• Automation: Zowe CLI, z/OSMF APIs, Control‑M/CA‑7, Jenkins/GitLab CI
• Monitoring: Splunk/ELK, enterprise log aggregation

Success Metrics

• Batch SLAs consistently met; reduced average job elapsed time and rerun rates
• Measurable DB2 query/perf improvements (e.g., CPU, getpages, elapsed time)
• Increased automation coverage (job submission/monitoring, recovery)
• High test coverage and low change‑failure rate across releases

Education & Certification

• BS/MS in CS, EE, or equivalent experience
• IBM Certified Database Admin — DB2 for z/OS; IBM z/OS Associate/Professional; Control‑M/CA‑7 certifications