Systems Engineer III

First Citizens Bank; Arizona; On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

First Citizens Bank is seeking a seasoned Systems Engineer/Programmer to plan, manage complex infrastructure projects, and provide advanced production support. The role involves automating tasks, tuning systems, and mentoring junior staff across mainframe, UNIX/Linux, and networked environments.

You will lead critical technical initiatives, coordinate disaster recovery efforts, and ensure secure, reliable operations for banking applications with on-call responsibilities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or 10+ years experience in systems engineering and programming.
• Experience with IBM AIX, Power Systems, and enterprise environments.
• Strong knowledge of disaster recovery, security, and regulatory requirements.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical support and testing of software, patches, and upgrades.
• Coordinate backup, recovery, and data security processes daily.
• Monitor, tune, and improve complex system infrastructure and performance.
• Provide mentorship and guidance to junior staff and project teams.
• Collaborate with auditors, vendors, and application teams on initiatives.

Skills

Mainframe exposure

Server virtualization

Automation tooling

Scripting (PowerShell, Python)

Networking & protocols

DB2/Oracle/SQL tuning

On-call availability

Education

Bachelor's Degree

10 years relevant experience (alternative)

Tools

PowerShell

Ansible

Terraform

Job description

Overview

This position is responsible for planning and project management, complex problem resolution, and advanced production support for the Bank’s systems infrastructure. Provides expert guidance and mentorship on system technical support, maintenance, and enhancement. Leads the administration of software and hardware that supports customer sales and service applications. Installs, automates, and tests infrastructures for continuous improvement. Monitors overall systems performance to identify potential issues and tune appropriately. Addresses failed components or technical issues and provides resolution. Oversees the work of less experienced associates and serves as a technical resource to wider business unit.

Overview

This position is responsible for planning and project management, complex problem resolution, and advanced production support for the Bank’s systems infrastructure. Provides expert guidance and mentorship on system technical support, maintenance, and enhancement. Leads the administration of software and hardware that supports customer sales and service applications. Installs, automates, and tests infrastructures for continuous improvement. Monitors overall systems performance to identify potential issues and tune appropriately. Addresses failed components or technical issues and provides resolution. Oversees the work of less experienced associates and serves as a technical resource to wider business unit.

Responsibilities & Qualifications

Duties & Responsibilities:

Technical Support - Leads technical support and service in the installation and testing of software, patches, and upgrades to system products. Resolves complex problems and failures that occur in assigned products and technical facilities. Responsible for administration, communication, and documentation throughout technical support activities. Designs, implements, and maintains processes related to daily backup, recovery, data security, and other disaster recovery functions.

System Testing - Coordinates testing with application support staff to determine function, results, stability, performance, and resource consumption. Verifies the successful implementation of software, patches, and upgrades. Performs a variety of planning and technical activities to ensure resource availability.

System Enhancement - Works to continuously monitor and improve systems, processes, and related technical infrastructure. Improves technical effectiveness by automating tasks, and utilizing programming or scripting to perform support duties. May utilize SMP/E, Iebgenr, Iebcopy, Rexx, Korn shell programming, Perl, Batch, FTP, Telnet, Netview, PowerShell, Python, Windows, Linux and AIX administrator functions, Quest, depending on the platform.

Technical Expertise - Maintains a strong knowledge base through ongoing research and education. Communicates effective and clear technical information to associates, vendor support personnel, and internal clients. Manages special or advanced technical projects. Provides guidance, mentorship, and leadership to less experienced associates in the work group.

Position Specific Skills

• Exposure to mainframe, desktop, Windows and UNIX system support
• Exposure to Server Virtualization
• Exposure to Configuration Management and automation (Puppet, Chef, Ansible, Teraform etc.)
• Mastery in Directory and Authentication services
• Understanding of data warehouse architecture principles
• Knowledge of BI or Enterprise Reporting Frameworks
• Exposure to Business Continuity Processes
• Working knowledge of scripting languages such as PowerShell, JavaScript, Python, SMP/E, Iebgenr, Iebcopy, etc
• Understanding of data flow, network interfaces, and protocols such as systems network architecture ("SNA"), Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol ("TCP/IP"), Domain Name System ("DNS"), and NetBIOS Extended User Interface ("NetBEUI")
• Knowledge of relational database management system fundamentals and design principles, databases and applications tuning tools, and multi-platform programs such as DB2, SQL Server, and Oracle
• Ability to be on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Qualifications

Bachelor's Degree and 6 years of experience in Systems engineer and systems programmer OR High School Diploma or GED and 10 years of experience in Systems engineer and systems programmer

Preferred Qualifications

• 10+ years of enterprise-level AIX administration experience supporting mission-critical environments.
• 10+ years of hands‑on experience supporting IBM Power Systems hardware platforms.
• Expert-level knowledge of:
  • IBM AIX 7.x
  • IBM Power Systems (Power9, Power10)
  • Hardware Management Console (HMC)
  • Virtual I/O Server (VIOS)
  • PowerVM Virtualization
  • Logical Partitioning (LPAR)
  • Network Installation Manager (NIM)
• Advanced experience with:
  • SAN storage and multipathing
  • TCP/IP networking, DNS, LDAP, SSH, and NTP
  • Backup, recovery, and disaster recovery solutions
  • Performance monitoring, tuning, and capacity management
• Strong Unix Shell Scripting expertise (ksh, bash, and sh) with the ability to develop, maintain, and troubleshoot complex automation scripts supporting enterprise operational processes, system administration, monitoring, reporting, and application support functions.
• Demonstrated experience developing and maintaining Ansible playbooks, roles, inventories, and automation workflows to support server provisioning, configuration management, patch deployment, compliance remediation, and operational standardization across AIX environments.
• Experience supporting systems within highly regulated industries, preferably banking or financial services.
• Working knowledge of regulatory and compliance requirements, including:
  • FFIEC
  • PCI-DSS
  • SOX
  • NIST Security Framework
  • CIS Benchmarks
• Experience supporting high-availability and disaster recovery configurations.
• Strong troubleshooting, root cause analysis, and problem‑solving skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to interact effectively with auditors, vendors, application teams, and senior leadership.

Preferred Areas Of Experience

• Experience supporting banking core applications and payment platforms.
• Experience with Ansible, Terraform, or other automation platforms.
• Experience with enterprise monitoring solutions.
• Familiarity with Red Hat Linux administration.

Key Competencies

• Ownership and accountability
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Attention to detail
• Risk awareness and security mindset
• Customer service orientation
• Ability to perform effectively under pressure
• Strong collaboration and leadership skills

Additional Information

Benefits are an integral part of total rewards and First Citizens Bank is committed to providing a competitive, thoughtfully designed and quality benefits program to meet the needs of our associates. More information can be found at https://jobs.firstcitizens.com/benefits.