Systems Programmer - IBM z/OS
M&T Bank Corporation
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Benefits offered by this job
Job summary
M&T Bank Corporation in Clanton, Alabama, seeks a Systems Programmer III to administer IBM z/OS, lead upgrades and middleware integrations. You will mentor staff, drive automation, and ensure security, performance, and 24/7 availability of critical banking systems on the enterprise mainframe.
The role requires strong analytical skills, 5+ years of z/OS experience, and leadership in complex projects. Competitive benefits, onsite work, and mainframe-focused career growth available.
Qualifications
- 6+ years of higher education and/or related work experience.
- Minimum 5 years of experience supporting IBM z/OS operating systems in a large enterprise environment.
- Experience installing, maintaining, and troubleshooting z/OS system software.
- Experience utilizing SMP/E for software maintenance and lifecycle management.
- Experience supporting IBM Z hardware and operating system infrastructure.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities in a mission-critical production environment.
- Experience leading technical projects and coordinating activities across multiple technology teams.
- Proven ability to mentor and train less experienced technical staff.
Responsibilities
- Install, configure, maintain, and support IBM z/OS operating systems and related system software in production and non-production environments.
- Plan and execute z/OS upgrades, migrations, maintenance, and service implementation activities utilizing SMP/E and established change management procedures.
- Lead technical efforts supporting enterprise mainframe infrastructure including operating system software, subsystem integration, and core platform services.
- Participate in cross-functional projects and provide technical leadership for infrastructure modernization, resiliency, automation, security, and performance improvement initiatives.
- Perform system software maintenance activities including installation of IBM and ISV software products, service application, health checks, and validation testing.
- Monitor system health, performance, and availability; identify trends and recommend improvements to optimize platform stability and efficiency.
- Investigate, diagnose, and resolve complex system incidents utilizing system traces, dumps, logs, vendor diagnostic utilities, and problem determination techniques.
- Coordinate with IBM and third-party software vendors to troubleshoot issues, implement fixes, and validate resolutions.
- Support and maintain enterprise resiliency technologies including Parallel Sysplex environments, system recovery processes, and disaster recovery capabilities.
- Develop and maintain automation solutions that improve operational efficiency, reduce manual effort, and enhance system reliability.
- Participate in capacity planning activities and provide analysis of processor, memory, storage, and workload utilization to support future growth.
- Schedule and implement maintenance activities while minimizing operational risk and service disruption.
- Provide after-hours support for planned implementations, maintenance activities, and critical production incidents.
- Create and maintain technical documentation, standards, procedures, and operational run books.
- Mentor and train less experienced systems programmers and provide technical guidance across project and operational activities.
- Attend vendor-sponsored training, conferences, and industry events to evaluate emerging technologies and recommend strategic improvements.
- Collaborate with cybersecurity, architecture, application development, storage, and network teams to ensure secure and efficient platform operation.
- Analyze operational trends and recurring issues to identify root causes and implement permanent corrective actions.
- Ensure compliance with corporate policies, regulatory requirements, audit standards, and technology control frameworks.
Skills
Education
Tools
Job description
Responsible for the installation, configuration, maintenance, and support of the IBM z/OS operating system and associated mainframe infrastructure supporting critical banking applications. Ensures the stability, availability, security, and performance of the enterprise IBM Z platform through effective system administration, software maintenance, automation, troubleshooting, and technical leadership. Serves as a senior technical contributor responsible for leading complex system initiatives, resolving advanced technical issues, mentoring junior staff, and driving operational excellence within the Mainframe Systems Programming team. Works closely with application support teams, infrastructure teams, vendors, and technology partners to maintain a highly resilient and secure computing environment.
- Install, configure, maintain, and support IBM z/OS operating systems and related system software in production and non-production environments.
- Plan and execute z/OS upgrades, migrations, maintenance, and service implementation activities utilizing SMP/E and established change management procedures.
- Lead technical efforts supporting enterprise mainframe infrastructure including operating system software, subsystem integration, and core platform services.
- Participate in cross-functional projects and provide technical leadership for infrastructure modernization, resiliency, automation, security, and performance improvement initiatives.
- Perform system software maintenance activities including installation of IBM and ISV software products, service application, health checks, and validation testing.
- Monitor system health, performance, and availability; identify trends and recommend improvements to optimize platform stability and efficiency.
- Investigate, diagnose, and resolve complex system incidents utilizing system traces, dumps, logs, vendor diagnostic utilities, and problem determination techniques.
- Coordinate with IBM and third-party software vendors to troubleshoot issues, implement fixes, and validate resolutions.
- Support and maintain enterprise resiliency technologies including Parallel Sysplex environments, system recovery processes, and disaster recovery capabilities.
- Develop and maintain automation solutions that improve operational efficiency, reduce manual effort, and enhance system reliability.
- Participate in capacity planning activities and provide analysis of processor, memory, storage, and workload utilization to support future growth.
- Schedule and implement maintenance activities while minimizing operational risk and service disruption.
- Provide after-hours support for planned implementations, maintenance activities, and critical production incidents.
- Create and maintain technical documentation, standards, procedures, and operational run books.
- Mentor and train less experienced systems programmers and provide technical guidance across project and operational activities.
- Attend vendor-sponsored training, conferences, and industry events to evaluate emerging technologies and recommend strategic improvements.
- Collaborate with cybersecurity, architecture, application development, storage, and network teams to ensure secure and efficient platform operation.
- Analyze operational trends and recurring issues to identify root causes and implement permanent corrective actions.
- Ensure compliance with corporate policies, regulatory requirements, audit standards, and technology control frameworks.
The Systems Programmer III works independently on complex technical assignments and serves as a subject matter expert within one or more areas of the IBM Z platform. Responsibilities include supporting highly available production systems, leading technical initiatives, mentoring team members, and providing guidance on major infrastructure decisions. This position directly influences the stability, security, and resiliency of critical banking services running on the enterprise mainframe platform.
No direct management responsibility. May provide technical leadership, mentorship, project coordination, and work direction to less experienced team members.
- Combined minimum of 6 years of higher education and/or related work experience.
- Minimum 5 years of experience supporting IBM z/OS operating systems in a large enterprise environment.
- Experience installing, maintaining, and troubleshooting z/OS system software.
- Experience utilizing SMP/E for software maintenance and lifecycle management.
- Experience supporting IBM Z hardware and operating system infrastructure.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with ability to diagnose complex system issues.
- Experience reading and interpreting technical documentation, dumps, traces, and diagnostic information.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities in a mission-critical production environment.
- Experience leading technical projects and coordinating activities across multiple technology teams.
- Proven ability to mentor and train less experienced technical staff.
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or related field.
- Combined minimum of 10 years of higher education and/or related work experience.
- 7+ years of IBM z/OS Systems Programming experience.
- Experience supporting one or more of the following: JES2 HCD/HCM WLM RMF UNIX System Services (USS) TSO/E SDSF ISPF RACF IBM Z Workload Scheduler Parallel Sysplex GDPS Mainframe Automation products Experience with mainframe performance monitoring and capacity planning. Experience supporting disaster recovery and business continuity initiatives. Experience with REXX, JCL, CLIST, Ansible, Python, or other automation technologies. IBM z/OS certifications or related technical training. Experience supporting regulated financial services environments.
- IBM z/OS
- IBM zSystems Hardware
- SMP/E
- JES2
- Parallel Sysplex
- GDPS
- RACF
- RMF
- SMF
- HCD/HCM
- USS
- SDSF
- TSO/ISPF
- REXX
- JCL
- OMEGAMON
- System Automation for z/OS
- Mainframe Security and Compliance
- Disaster Recovery and Resiliency
- Capacity Planning and Performance Analysis
- Competitive compensation
- Health, welfare, and retirement benefits
- 401(k) match at 5%
- Work-life balance and flexible work arrangements
- Banking Officers start with 25 days PTO plus 12 paid holidays
- 40 hours paid volunteer hours per year
- Much more.
For details, see: M&T Benefits Overview
The pay range for this position is $80,900.00 - $134,800.00 Annual (USD). The successful candidate’s particular combination of knowledge, skills, and experience will inform their specific compensation. The range listed above corresponds to our national pay range for this role. The specific pay range applicable to you may vary based on your location.
Clanton, Alabama, United States of America
Great companies have an enduring sense of purpose. At M&T, our purpose is a simple one: make a difference in people’s lives and uplift the communities we serve.
M&T Bank Corporation is a financial holding company headquartered in Buffalo, New York. M&T’s affiliates offer advice, guidance, expertise and solutions across the entire financial spectrum, combining M&T Bank’s traditional banking services with the wealth management and institutional capabilities offered by Wilmington Trust.
M&T Bank has a network of over 1,000 branches and 2,200 ATMs that span 12 states from Maine to Virginia and Washington, D.C. For more than 165 years, M&T has strived to take an active role in our communities and build long-lasting relationships with our customers.
We are a bank for communities—combining the capabilities of a large bank with the care of a locally focused institution.
As an employer of choice, we are proud to offer competitive benefits ranging from medical and retirement to forty hours of paid volunteer time, each year.
Our core values – integrity, ownership, collaboration, curiosity, and candor – drive the work we do.
We seek to further build upon our record of success by bringing in top talent and fresh skill sets while continuing to support the growth and development of all our team members.
View M&T’s Human Capital Report to learn more.
M&T Bank is unwavering when it comes to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, age, disability, citizenship, pregnancy, veteran status, military status, marital status, sexual orientation, genetic information or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state or local laws.
M&T Bank Corporation has policies and procedures in place to promote a drug free workplace.
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