Senior IBM z/OS & z/OS Connect Administrator

ITTConnect is seeking a Senior IBM z/OS & z/OS Connect Administrator to work on site for a client in the Columbus, OH area. This is a contract position with a client that is a global leader in consulting, digital transformation, technology and engineering services with over 300,000 team members in nearly 50 countries. The end client is in the Utilities sector.

Job location: Columbus, OH (on site work). Relocation OK.

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This position combines two critical functions:

1. Core IBM z/OS systems administration and systems programming
   

2. IBM z/OS Connect EE and Liberty administration, API development and integration
   

Candidates must have meaningful hands-on experience in both areas. Experience developing mainframe applications alone is not sufficient.

Key Responsibilities

Core z/OS Administration

• Administer and support enterprise IBM z/OS environments across multiple LPARs and Sysplex configurations.
  

• Perform z/OS system maintenance using SMP/E, including RECEIVE, APPLY and ACCEPT processing for PTFs, APARs and maintenance packages.
  

• Support z/OS upgrades, IPL planning and execution, system initialization and post-IPL validation.
  

• Maintain and troubleshoot PARMLIB, PROCLIB, JES2, USS, started tasks and other core z/OS system components.
  

• Support Parallel Sysplex, XCF/XES, coupling-facility connectivity, workload distribution and high-availability operations.
  

• Configure and support RACF users, groups, resource profiles, started-task identities and access controls.
  

• Monitor system health and performance using tools such as SDSF, SMF, RMF, OMEGAMON and system logs.
  

• Troubleshoot production issues involving operating-system services, subsystems, security, storage, networking and application connectivity.
  

• Participate in disaster-recovery planning, failover testing and production recovery activities.
  

• Support system configuration activities involving HCD/IODF, TCP/IP, WLM and related infrastructure components.
  

z/OS Connect and API Administration

• Install, configure, upgrade and administer IBM z/OS Connect EE and WebSphere Liberty environments.
  

• Configure multiple z/OS Connect and Liberty instances across multiple LPARs.
  

• Design and support high-availability, workload-balancing and failover architectures for z/OS Connect and CICS services.
  

• Configure z/OS Connect integration with CICS regions, CICSPlex SM and other mainframe assets.
  

• Administer Liberty Server configurations, including server.xml, JVM settings, features, ports, logging, started tasks and runtime properties.
  

• Develop, deploy and manage REST APIs that expose CICS transactions and other mainframe services.
  

• Configure API Provider and API Requester services, OpenAPI definitions, JSON mappings and deployment artifacts.
  

• Configure RACF/SAF authentication and authorization for z/OS Connect services.
  

• Implement and support JWT, OAuth 2.0, TLS/SSL, certificates, RACF keyrings, keystores and truststores.
  

• Troubleshoot performance, connectivity and production issues across z/OS Connect, Liberty, CICS, RACF, DB2 and network layers.
  

• Support CI/CD automation for API and configuration deployments using Git-based pipelines and related DevOps tools.
  

• Collaborate with mainframe systems, CICS, security, infrastructure, networking, DevOps and API-management teams.
  

Requirements

• Strong hands-on experience as a z/OS Systems Administrator or Systems Programmer.
  

• At least five years of hands-on IBM z/OS Connect EE experience.
  

• Demonstrated experience installing, configuring, upgrading and supporting z/OS Connect EE and Liberty Server.
  

• Experience performing SMP/E maintenance, including PTF and APAR implementation.
  

• Experience supporting IPLs, PARMLIB, JES2, USS, started tasks and z/OS system operations.
  

• Working knowledge of Parallel Sysplex, XCF/XES, multi-LPAR environments and high-availability concepts.
  

• Strong experience with IBM CICS Transaction Server and CICSPlex SM.
  

• Experience implementing multi-instance and multi-LPAR z/OS Connect architectures.
  

• Experience exposing CICS transactions and COBOL services through REST/JSON APIs.
  

• Strong RACF administration and troubleshooting experience.
  

• Experience with JWT, OAuth 2.0, TLS/SSL, digital certificates and RACF keyrings.
  

• Experience troubleshooting complex production issues across z/OS, z/OS Connect, Liberty, CICS, RACF and networking layers.
  

• Experience with DevOps and CI/CD automation for mainframe or z/OS Connect deployments.
  

• Strong communication skills and the ability to collaborate across infrastructure, security, application and API-management teams.
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with HCD/IODF, WLM, SMF/RMF, OMEGAMON or similar system-management tools.
  

• Experience with CICS, DB2, IMS, MQ and enterprise API gateways.
  

• Experience supporting disaster-recovery and failover exercises.
  

• Experience in utilities, banking, insurance or another high-volume regulated environment.
  

• Previous experience supporting an enterprise API modernization program.