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. This position combines two critical functions: Core IBM z/OS systems administration and systems programming 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.