Mainframe IMS System Programmer/Information Management System – Dba

Mainframe IMS System Programmer/Information Management System – Dba

Requirements

• 5-10 years of IMS Mainframe system or application experience
• A fundamental and deep understanding of IBM’s Information Management System (IMS) on z/OS
• An understanding of z/OS component and architecture
• Performance analysis skills is an asset
• Working knowledge of SMP/E, Omegamon, System Automation
• Programming skills, Assembler and Cobol knowledge is an asset
• Exposure to Sysplex, z/OS Performance, Db2, CICS, MQ, TCP/IP is an asset
• Good written and verbal communication skills
• The successful candidate must be a self-starter, team player, and able to collaborate positively with other departments

Responsibilities

• Maintain IMS infrastructure on the z/OS platform
• Support IMS related products
• Support IMS application developers
• Provide specialized technology related build support (e.g. research, installation, configuration, provisioning, administration support of systems, applications)
• Partner with key stakeholders to schedule packaging and release new applications in a timely manner
• Continuously strive to improve the stability of production environment by partnering closely with key stakeholders on setting up, maintaining and monitoring applications/systems, ensuring availability targets are met
• Ensure timely notification and escalation of possible issues/problems, options and recommendations for prompt resolution; communicate project status and provide timely escalation of issues to ensure project objectives are met
• Deliver effective and defect-free support (application, hardware, software and/or operations), researching system issues / opportunities, overseeing the execution of recommendations and maintaining accurate documentation
• Interact with clients to provide quality service/solutions consistent with objectives and client requirements
• Design, review, and integrate all application requirements, including functional, security, integration, performance, quality, and operations
• Identify and address application and data issues and cross-capability and cross-release issues that affect application integrity
• Consult with other functional areas to provide technical expertise on area of specialization by acting as a reference on technology, trends and processes related to own area
• Participate in projects aimed at evolving the base infrastructure, deploying new technologies, or optimizing the operational environment
• May build and deploy base infrastructure components such as servers, operating systems and middleware for all environments
• May be involved in the deployment of applications, either off the shelf or in-house developed, and in the procurement of supported assets
• May maintain base infrastructure components current and defect free and liaise with 3rd party vendor to report problems and receive fixes
• Schedule changes to supported components in accordance with the approved change management procedures; implement changes with proper testing, stakeholder signoff, monitoring and with minimal impact to the business
• Respond to requests for information and assist project teams in evaluating alternate approaches
• May develop a working relationship with 3rd party vendors as required to fulfill support requirements
• Monitor system lifecycles, ensuring specifications and functionality support business objectives and architecture decisions, undertaking re-development, as required
• May monitor the performance of the environment by using meaningful metrics
• Assess and analyze optimization opportunities to the operational environment to improve performance and/or resource utilization
• Ensure effective change management discipline is used
• Assist in the maintenance of secure computing facilities and technical infrastructure/architecture to support clients and applications as appropriate
• Adhere to existing processes/standards, business technology architecture, risk and production capacity guidelines; plan, monitor and escalate issues as required
• Follow standards, policies and procedures to ensure compliance with the Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) and applicable Business Recovery Plans (BRP)
• Identify/implement process improvements to enhance revenue, customer experience and/or reduce costs
• Comply with well-defined enterprise technology delivery practices and standards and project management disciplines
• Make effective use of the cost management processes in place in own unit
• Continuously enhance knowledge/expertise in TD services, applications, infrastructure, analytical tools and techniques that can contribute to effective solution development/delivery
• Keep current with industry and/or business trends
• May perform testing according to test plans, monitor and report on results, and work with others on problem resolution
• As required, support the development of business cases, RFI/RFP and service level agreements with vendors/suppliers consistent with IT requirements/guidelines

Preferred Qualifications

• Performance analysis skills is an asset
• Programming skills, Assembler and Cobol knowledge is an asset
• Exposure to Sysplex, z/OS Performance, Db2, CICS, MQ, TCP/IP is an asset