Mainframe CICS System Administrator

Stellent IT LLC
United States
6 days ago
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Role details

Contract type
Temporary contract
Employment type
Full-time (> 32 hours)
Experience level
Expert
Experience required
8 years minimum
Working hours
Regular working hours
Job source

Tech stack

Batch Processing Unix Customer Information Control System (CICS) CLIST Data Files IBM DB2 Disaster Recovery Entry Sequenced Data Set Monitoring of Systems Job Control Language (JCL) IBM Mainframe IBM WebSphere MQ
+25 more
Rexx (Programming Language) Tivoli Management Framework Intrusion Detection Systems Job Entry Subsystem 2/3 Mainframes MVS (OS) PCI Data Security Standards Performance Tuning IBM Resource Access Control Facility Shell Script System Programming System Software Virtual Storage Access Methods Web Services Z/OS Tso/ispf Transport Layer Security Data Storage Management System Availability Software Troubleshooting File-aid Omegamon SAP Ariba Api Management Servicenow

Job description

We are seeking a highly experienced Senior Mainframe CICS System Administrator to administer, support, and optimize enterprise IBM z/OS mainframe environments. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience managing CICS Transaction Server, z/OS systems programming, CICSPlex SM, JCL, RACF, VSAM, and production support in mission-critical environments. This role requires strong troubleshooting, performance tuning, system maintenance, and automation experience supporting large-scale banking, insurance, or utility organizations., * Administer and support IBM CICS Transaction Server environments across multiple production LPARs.

  • Install, configure, maintain, and upgrade CICS regions and related system software.
  • Manage CICS resource definitions using CEDA, CEMT, and CSD.
  • Configure and maintain CICSPlex SM for workload balancing and region management.
  • Perform system maintenance using SMP/E, including PTF, APAR, and RSU implementation.
  • Monitor system health, availability, and performance using OMEGAMON, RMF, and SMF.
  • Troubleshoot CICS transaction failures, abends, storage issues, and batch processing problems.
  • Develop and maintain JCL, automation scripts (REXX/CLIST), and operational procedures.
  • Administer RACF security, SSL/TLS configurations, and access controls.
  • Manage VSAM datasets, storage allocation, backups, recovery, and disaster recovery procedures.
  • Support CA7/TWS scheduling and optimize enterprise batch processing.
  • Coordinate production implementations, IPL activities, and planned maintenance windows.
  • Work closely with application developers, database administrators, network teams, and infrastructure teams to resolve production issues.
  • Participate in 24x7 production support and on-call rotations.
  • Prepare technical documentation, operational runbooks, and system standards.

Requirements

  • 15+ years of experience administering IBM Mainframe environments.
  • Strong hands-on experience with IBM CICS Transaction Server (TS 5.3/5.5/5.6).
  • Extensive knowledge of z/OS, MVS, JES2, and UNIX System Services (USS).
  • Experience creating and maintaining CICS Regions, CSD, and resource definitions using CEDA, CEMT, and CICS Explorer.
  • Hands-on experience with CICSPlex SM administration and workload management.
  • Strong knowledge of JCL, PROC libraries, GDGs, SORT utilities, IDCAMS, IEBGENER, and IEFBR14.
  • Experience with TSO/ISPF, SDSF, IOF, File-AID, SPUFI, and QMF.
  • Strong knowledge of VSAM (KSDS, ESDS, RRDS), SMS, DFSMS, DFHSM, zFS, and storage management.
  • Experience administering RACF security, started task IDs, dataset security, and keyring management.
  • Experience with SMP/E, including PTF, APAR, RSU installation, and maintenance.
  • Experience supporting DB2, IMS, and IBM MQ integrated CICS environments.
  • Knowledge of CA7/CA Workload Automation or Tivoli Workload Scheduler (TWS).
  • Experience using monitoring tools such as OMEGAMON, RMF, SMF, NetView, and IBM Health Checker.
  • Strong troubleshooting skills for CICS regions, JCL failures, storage issues, and system performance., * Experience supporting Banking, Financial Services, Insurance, or Utilities environments.
  • IBM z/OS Systems Administration certification.
  • IBM CICS System Administration certification.
  • Experience with PCI DSS, SOC 2, NERC CIP, or other regulated environments.
  • Knowledge of Disaster Recovery, High Availability, and Capacity Planning.
  • Experience with CICS Web Services, TLS/SSL, and API integrations.
  • Familiarity with automation using REXX, CLIST, or shell scripting.

Technical Environment

  • IBM z/OS
  • IBM CICS Transaction Server (TS 5.3, 5.5, 5.6)
  • CICSPlex SM
  • JES2
  • MVS
  • UNIX System Services (USS)
  • JCL
  • TSO/ISPF
  • SDSF
  • IOF
  • File-AID
  • SPUFI
  • QMF
  • REXX
  • CLIST
  • VSAM
  • DFSMS
  • DFHSM
  • SMS
  • RACF
  • SMP/E
  • IBM MQ
  • DB2
  • IMS
  • OMEGAMON
  • RMF
  • SMF
  • NetView
  • IBM Health Checker
  • CA7
  • Tivoli Workload Scheduler (TWS)
  • IDCAMS
  • DFSORT
  • IEBGENER
  • IEFBR14

Nice-to-Have Skills

  • CICS Web Services
  • CICS Explorer
  • IBM Z Performance Tuning
  • Capacity Planning
  • SSL/TLS Configuration
  • ServiceNow
  • Change Management
  • Automation using REXX and CLIST
  • Production Operations Support
  • Disaster Recovery Testing

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