z/OS Systems Programmer - Lead

The person in this position is responsible for all aspects of a mainframe hardware, software, OS, and storage, including but not limited to designing, configuring, and supporting related components in an IBM z15 systems environment. This person is to monitor mainframe performance and identify and make adjustments as necessary to maintain peak mainframe performance.

Strong problem diagnostics skills are a must. The candidates must be able to work with customers, vendors and other OCIO staffs in resolving problems such as slow response time, channel connectivity issues, storage issues, hardware failures, replication issues, networking issues, etc.

Responsibilities also include active participation in disaster recovery planning, testing, and documenting. The candidates must be able to work with other internal support groups, ensuring the environment is capable of providing service as changing requirements dictate. The candidates must possess not only technical expertise, but also effective oral and written communications skills, plus good organizational skills. The candidates must be effective working independently and with others with minimal supervision. This position requires a minimum of 8 years hands-on experience performing z/OS System Programmer duties.

Areas of focus:

Leadership:

§ Provides input for defining state mainframe technical direction.

§ Provides definition and input for state mainframe services and SOPs.

§ Participate with acquisition processes that are highly technical and procedural, typically involving millions of dollars and have long range impacts.

§ Prepares, monitors, evaluates, and reports progress for work plans.

§ Coordinates broad work efforts (within and between work units and state entities).

§ Provides input for performance evaluations, leave time, and other administrative actions as required.

Hardware Duties:

· Integrates and supports changes in the technology infrastructure.

· Defines and maintains mainframe hardware configuration via Hardware Management Console (HMC). Also able to perform critical functions like IPL of mainframe LPARs via the HMC.

· Develops strategic technical direction and guides the use of technology for the state and other non-state entities. This includes providing the conceptual design of the mainframe and providing the technical requirements for the acquisition of hardware.

· Implements best practices and tuning recommendations within the mainframe environment to achieve optimum processing capabilities.

· Coordinates and monitors all hardware maintenance with vendor(s) and the state mainframe services.

Disaster Recovery Duties:

· Develops and maintains concepts and plans that will accommodate multiple and varying degrees of disaster scenarios while maintaining core processing requirements.

· Provides and maintains disaster site requirements that include but are not limited to: site size, electrical, heating and cooling, security, hardware, connectivity for data and IP connections, networking, operational, staffing considerations, and contractual vendor agreements.

· Develops and maintains procedures for “mirrored” data and periodic data/resource backup concepts. These include conceptual, hardware, and software solutions required to support these efforts.

· Provides requirements into technology and solutions that provide “data links” between hardware sites and monitors these processes for errors and failures.

· Develops and maintains disaster recovery drills to ensure hardware, software, and recovery procedures perform as expected.

· Supports other entities with their disaster recovery activities at the state mainframe site.

Security:

· Fulfills mainframe security administration or audit role

· Maintains accounts to control access to: technical users and clients, client data, system and client resources, and client functionality

· Provides web certificate management, which includes troubleshooting problems. This includes and is not limited to: software requirements, installation, and any configuration

· Oversees and coordinates periodic audits required for mainframe users, data, and software including all reporting requirements

Software Duties:

· Researches vendor software announcements of new releases and products and prepares appropriate action recommendations. Also researches vendor software products as necessary to fulfill state requirements.

· Develops software installation and implementation plans, which include: installation, configuration, testing, and migration.

· Designs enhancements or processes to incorporate new function and methodology into mainframe software products.

· Schedules and coordinates all software changes, while considering all other facets.

· Installs and maintains IBM and OEM software using SMP/E or other vendor specific processes.

Storage:

· Administers all aspects of the mainframe storage for disk and tape data sets, which includes but is not limited to allocation of data sets, storage allocation routines, disk provisioning and reclamation, VTOC/VVDS diagnosis and corrective action, etc.

· Develops processes and procedures to ensure mirroring, backup, and recovery capabilities are established.

· Develops and executes procedures for planned and unplanned outages for both local and remote Disk and Tape.

Mainframe Print Services:

· Designs, develops and maintains the mainframe printing solution

· Provides mainframe printing support including adding, updating and deletion of printers

Capacity Planning:

· Performs reporting and monitoring to measure; capacity, performance, and growth for mainframe hardware.

· Performs hardware capacity planning that allow us to manage hardware changes without adversely impacting services through a well-planned process.

· Troubleshoots mainframe performance problems and offer tuning solutions to achieve optimum processing capabilities.

· Collects/verifies usage data for capacity, performance, problem and billing.

· Defines performance objectives and capacity considerations for mainframe plus monitors and evaluates system performance against those objectives and considerations.

General:

· Performs research to augment required knowledge needed within an area to provide a firm base to solve problems and develop required solutions.

· Performs monitoring to ensure system performance is error free, system resources being managed well, and system performance objectives are being met.

· Works closely and appropriately with other state technical staff and business users, and other non-state technical staff.

· Performs problem resolution at the highest level using considerable intuitive and deductive analysis with critical thinking.

· Provides daily support to other IT staff including; IT Application Developers, Network Operations Center staffs and other Systems Programmers.

· Evaluates the business requirements for the performance and availability of new applications.

· Plans/participates in disaster recovery exercises and potential disaster events.

· Provides mentoring and assistance to other SP staff.

Required Knowledge & Skills:

· At least 8 years of experience as a zOS Systems Programmer leading projects and making critical and complex decisions.

· Experience with z/OS Parallel Sysplex and Coupling Facility environments.

· TSO/ISPF/SDSF/JCL

· Disaster Recovery

· General knowledge and understanding the mainframe hardware, software, processors, etc.

· HMC skills.

· SMP/E

· Storage (DASD and virtual tape systems)

Preferred Knowledge & Skills:

· RACF

· z/OS UNIX

· HCD

· WLM

Desirable Knowledge & Skills:

· Omegamon

· Infoprint

· REXX

· RMM

· Catalog Management

· Capacity Planning for zOS

· Apache Server

· z/OSMF