Job Description & Details
This is a hands-on mainframe engineering role focused entirely on modernizing and stabilizing enterprise automation frameworks on z/OS. If you enjoy untangling complex legacy operational procedures, handling system shutdowns, and migrating rulesets without bringing down critical production environments, this gig offers a great technical challenge.
What You'll Actually Be Doing
You will spend your days architecting and tuning robust automation solutions using IBM System Automation for z/OS and NetView. A major part of this role involves high-stakes migration work, specifically transitioning legacy rulesets from tools like CA OPS/MVS or CA Automation Point over to modern IBM automation stacks. You'll be knee-deep in managing Policy Databases (PDB), writing complex REXX scripts, handling console message processing, and troubleshooting execution abends to ensure maximum operational uptime.
The Core Tech Stack
You need absolute fluency in IBM System Automation for z/OS (SA z/OS) and NetView for z/OS, particularly around resource modeling, policy database management, and alert routing. Experience with CA OPS/MVS is equally critical since you will be migrating away from it. Scripting and low-level mainframe proficiency in REXX, JCL, and TSO/ISPF are non-negotiable here, as you'll rely on them daily to build automated IPL procedures and streamline GDPS high-availability operations.
Interview Expectations
The interviewers are going to want to know how you handle catastrophic failures, so expect them to ask you to walk through a complex abend scenario where an automation script went wrong during a high-speed IPL sequence. They are secretly testing your grace under pressure and your deep mental model of z/OS console operations and message processing. You will likely also face a technical deep-dive into REXX debugging and how you optimize large Policy Databases without creating infinite loops or performance bottlenecks.
Application Advice
To make your resume stick out for this role, drop the generic buzzwords and put your specific tooling front and center. Explicitly highlight your hands-on migrations from CA OPS/MVS to IBM SA z/OS or NetView, as that project experience is the exact pain point this team is trying to solve. Ensure keywords like Policy Database (PDB), REXX, JCL, and IPL sequences are clearly visible in your bullet points so you easily bypass the automated filters and land directly on the hiring manager's desk.