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Job Title: Mainframe z/OS System Programmer / Administrator
Position: SSE/LA
Experience: 6-9 years
Positions: 2
Category: Software Engineering / Infrastructure
Shift: 5:30 PM to 2:30 AM IST
Main location: Bangalore Chennai Hyderabad
Position ID: J0926-1797
Employment Type: Full Time
Education Qualification: Bachelors degree in Computer Science or related field or higher with minimum 06 years of relevant experience
Job Summary
Experience Required: 610 Years
We are seeking an experienced Senior z/OS Systems Administrator (L3 Support) to join our Core Mainframe Infrastructure Services this senior escalated technical role you will act as the highest level of internal technical escalation for operating system incidents complex systems engineering system migrations and operational resilience across mission critical enterprise IBM Z environments.
The successful candidate will lead complex problem resolution drive major operating system upgradesincluding migrations from z/OS 3.1 to z/OS 3.2oversee JES3 spool/batch subsystems manage advanced MVS console alerting and ensure robust disaster recovery and storage redundancy utilizing CSM (Copy Services Manager). This position works closely with architecture storage automation and application infrastructure teams to guarantee non stop system availability strict SLA compliance and continuous modernization of the mainframe landscape.
. Serve as the final technical escalation point (L3) for complex high impact system incidents critical outages and recurring system anomalies across production Sysplex environments.
. Perform in depth root cause analysis (RCA) on system abends wait states hard/soft loops and system crashes; analyze standalone dumps (SADUMP) IPCS dump captures and SYSLOG / OPERLOG data.
. Deliver rapid remediation during major system incidents orchestrating complex emergency actions IPL sequencing and dynamic system reconfiguration.
2. Operating System Migrations & SMP/E Engineering
. Plan architect and execute operating system release upgrades specifically leading migration paths from z/OS 3.1 to z/OS 3.2.
. Oversee SMP/E environments for installing upgrading and maintaining z/OS software products PTFs APARs PUT buckets and RSU maintenance levels.
. Validate system compatibility upgrade pre requisites hardware co existence fallback procedures and validation test suites across all sandbox QA and production LPARs.
. Maintain and customize critical system configurations: PARMLIB (IEASYSxx LOADxx LPALSTxx LNKLSTxx) PROCLIB and system symbolics.
3. MVS Console Operations Alerts & Automation
. Direct MVS console operations console topology configuration message routing command security and master console failover policies.
. Monitor triage and configure critical system alert mechanisms WTO/WTOR handling console flood prevention and system automation intercept routines.
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Partner with automation engineers to develop and refine automated operator interventions incident suppression rules and auto ticketing triggers.
4. Job Entry Subsystem (JES3) Administration
. Administer tune and maintain complex JES3 multi system complex (JES3plex) environments including Global and Local processor setups.
. Manage JES3 initialization streams spool space allocations spool offload/reload procedures dynamic device reconfiguration and job routing rules.
. Provide deep diagnostic troubleshooting for JES3 spool stalls communication timeouts converter/interpreter errors and complex batch queue blockages.
5. High Availability Storage Redundancy & CSM
. Administer and configure CSM (Copy Services Manager) to manage replication sessions (Metro Mirror Global Mirror and HyperSwap) for critical system redundancy and data resiliency.
. Coordinate with Enterprise Storage teams on DASD/tape allocation coupling facility structures SMS constructs and catalog recovery.
. Ensure automated failover capabilities and continuous availability across multi site Parallel Sysplex environments.
6. Archiving & Output Management Tools
. Oversee administration and L3 troubleshooting for enterprise report and log archiving tools specifically CA View (Broadcom Output Management) and Flasher.
. Manage archival database maintenance index recoveries automated purging cycles bundle definitions and report distribution stability.
. Support end user and operations team inquiries related to archived Syslog retrieval batch utility output retention and compliance auditing.
7. Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity
. Lead technical planning script development and technical execution for enterprise Mainframe Disaster Recovery (DR) and business continuity drills.
. Validate disaster recovery readiness utilizing CSM failover scripts alternative site IPLs and catalog synchronization.
. Maintain and update disaster recovery runbooks recovery time objective (RTO) targets and recovery point objective (RPO) guarantees.
8. Mentorship Governance & Continuous Improvement
. Provide technical leadership and hands on mentoring to L1/L2 operations and systems administration staff.
. Review change records conduct peer reviews on critical maintenance packages and evaluate architectural impact assessments.
. Drive operational efficiency through REXX scripting automated health checks and modern infrastructure tooling.
Key skills:
SMP/E z/OSMF JES2/JES3
Sysplex & CFRM Policies
RACF TSO REXX
USS (UNIX System Services)
IOCP/HCD & PARMLIB
VTAM TCP/IP FTP/SFTP
ISV product installation customization & support
BMC Mainframe products and other ISV tools
z/OS software installation maintenance & upgrades
Production/on-call support
Required Qualifications
. Education: Bachelors degree in Computer Science Information Technology Computer Engineering or equivalent practical experience.
. Experience: Minimum of 610 years of dedicated hands on experience in IBM z/OS System Administration and L3 Production Engineering.
. Track Record: Demonstrated background in supporting high volume 24x7 mission critical financial enterprise or government mainframe operations.
Required Technical Skills
Core z/OS Systems & Subsystems
. Comprehensive mastery of z/OS Architecture & Administration (including latest z/OS 3.1 and release readiness for z/OS 3.2).
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Advanced SMP/E (RECEIVE APPLY ACCEPT RESTORE SMPPTS and CSI management).
. Hands on expertise in JES3 environments (JES3plex spool management initialization decks Global/Local operations).
. MVS Console Architecture: Console operations routing codes command authority message flood automation and alert triage.
. Deep knowledge of PARMLIB / PROCLIB management agile I/O configuration (HCD) and Workload Manager (WLM).
. Utilities and diagnostics: IPCS dump reading AMASPZAP IDCAMS DUMP/RESTORE (DFSMSdss) IEBCOPY and DSNUTILS.
Resiliency & Redundancy
. Copy Services Manager (CSM) administration for multi site replication HyperSwap monitoring and storage redundancy.
. Parallel Sysplex concepts: Sysplex Timers (STP) Coupling Facility (CF) structures and CDS management.
Specialized Tools & Utilities
. Report & log archiving suites: CA View and Flasher.
. Scripting & Automation: REXX CLIST and JCL mastery.
. Security: RACF/ ACF2 (profiles certificates class administration and audit remediation).
. Output and spool utilities: (E)JES or equivalent spool navigation tools.
Preferred Qualifications
. IBM Certified System Administrator z/OS.
. Experience with JES3 to JES2 migration strategies and assessment planning.
. Familiarity with database/middleware subsystems: IBM Db2 for z/OS IMS CICS and IBM MQ.
. Exposure to Mainframe Modernization: z/OSMF workflows Ansible for z/OS and Git based source management.
Key Competencies
. L3 Diagnostic Acumen: Proven ability to rapidly isolate root causes across interconnected hardware operating system network and storage layers.
. Crisis Management: Composure and decisive leadership when driving bridge calls during severe production outages and emergency IPLs.
. Clear Technical Communication: Aptitude for articulating complex technical incidents into clear stakeholder summaries and executive RCA documents.
. Continuous Improvement: Passion for automating repetitive manual checks and modernizing legacy processes.
Working Conditions
. Scheduled weekend and off hours coverage during planned OS migrations major maintenance windows and disaster recovery exercises.
. Collaboration with global engineering teams and operational hubs across multiple time zones.
Skills:
- DB2
- DB2 for z/OS
- Mainframe
- Mainframe Enterprise Server
- Oracle Dataguard
What you can expect from us:
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You are invited to be an owner from day 1 as we work together to bring our Dream to life. Thats why we call ourselves CGI Partners rather than employees. We benefit from our collective success and actively shape our companys strategy and direction.
Your work creates value. Youll develop innovative solutions and build relationships with teammates and clients while accessing global capabilities to scale your ideas embrace new opportunities and benefit from expansive industry and technology expertise.
Youll shape your career by joining a company built to grow and last. Youll be supported by leaders who care about your health and well-being and provide you with opportunities to deepen your skills and broaden your horizons.
That same commitment to fairness extends to how we use technology. To support our recruitment team AI tools may be used to help assess applications though they never replace human judgement. All hiring decisions remain entirely in the hands of our recruitment professionals.
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