Senior Mainframe Systems Programmer (IBM z/OS, CICS, MQ)

We are seeking an experienced Senior Mainframe Systems Programmer to support and maintain IBM z/OS environments, with a strong focus on CICS Transaction Server and IBM MQ. This role is responsible for system administration, software installation and upgrades, troubleshooting, performance tuning, security compliance, disaster recovery support, and technical documentation in a secure, highly regulated enterprise environment.

The ideal candidate has deep hands-on experience with IBM mainframe technologies, middleware administration, change and incident management, and supporting mission-critical systems with high availability and operational stability.

Key Responsibilities

Administer, install, configure, upgrade, and maintain IBM z/OS mainframe environments, including CICS Transaction Server, IBM MQ, and related software products

Perform software installations, migrations, upgrades, patching, and implementation activities across multiple mainframe environments

Troubleshoot and resolve system abends, outages, and performance issues using logs, traces, dumps, and monitoring tools

Manage IBM MQ environments, including queue managers, queues, channels, backup processing, and web services administration

Monitor and tune system and middleware performance to ensure availability, reliability, and operational efficiency

Support secure and compliant system operations in accordance with cybersecurity and enterprise security requirements

Develop and execute implementation plans, test plans, recovery plans, and back-out procedures for software and hardware changes

Coordinate change management, incident management, CAB activities, and cross-functional implementation efforts using approved operational processes and tools

Create and maintain technical documentation, standard operating procedures, implementation guides, root cause analysis reports, and status updates

Utilize SMP/E, JCL, TSO/ISPF, REXX, CLIST, COBOL, and related IBM utilities to support administration, automation, and system operations

Support backup, recovery, and disaster recovery planning, testing, and execution

Provide technical guidance, mentoring, training, and customer support to project teams, junior staff, and stakeholders

Collaborate with infrastructure, cybersecurity, application, and operations teams to ensure stable and secure mainframe services

Requirements

Active Top Secret Security Clearance

DoD IAT Level II certification required

Minimum of 8 years of experience in mainframe systems programming, administration, or support

Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent combination of experience and training

Strong hands-on experience with IBM z/OS, CICS Transaction Server, and IBM MQ

Experience with software installation, upgrades, patching, maintenance, and migration activities in enterprise mainframe environments

Experience troubleshooting system abends, dumps, traces, and performance issues in production environments

Working knowledge of SMP/E, JCL, TSO/ISPF, REXX, CLIST, and related IBM mainframe utilities