Mainframe Operator

Company: Healthcare Clinic Based in Phoenix, Arizona Location: Full Remote *As of 9/21/26 They now need consultants out of Ireland. Carrie is talking with Bob for details. Pay: Open - Dependent on Experience Level 1 and Level 2 support. Level 1 mainframe support handles initial incident triage, basic troubleshooting, and routine operational tasks like job monitoring, system restarts, and following documented procedures to resolve common issues. Level 2 mainframe support provides deeper technical expertise for complex problems that require advanced diagnostics, system configuration changes, performance analysis, and escalation handling when issues cannot be resolved through standard procedures. Daily Routines Perform daily checkouts of all LPARs (QA and Production): verify started tasks, hardware configurations, and clear WTORs Confirm all VTAM nodes are online Monitor and manage JES spool utilization across all LPARs; purge output, cancel batch jobs, or add spool capacity as needed Cancel batch jobs upon request from the workload team Perform IPLs on test systems, Stand Alone System Dump tests, and DBAR test system IPLs as requested Monitor system resources (CPU, JNUM, JQES, BUFX, etc.) and take corrective action as needed Perform spin-offs of resource-intensive tasks to free up system resources Recycle started tasks on Production and Test/QA systems routinely Ensure all JESLINKs are operational; recycle as necessary Adjust batch priorities (BATCHHI) and perform dumps on problematic batch jobs Manage initiators (add, delete, modify) during high-usage periods as requested by the Capacity Team Perform Data Transfer Pool Swaps (MCC-WCC or WCC-MCC) Sunday IPL / Mainframe Change Window Manage the standard Sunday change window, including IPLs and related maintenance Run PARMLIB update jobs, perform Power-On Resets (POR) of mainframes and Coupling Facilities Create and maintain the IPL SHEET (SOP document) reflecting all scheduled weekend changes and activities Account for IPL order changes due to PORs, application releases, time changes, z/OS upgrades, or additional system IPLs (GDPS, VMs, DBAR, Coupling Facilities) Host weekly Thursday IPL review meetings with Hardware Engineering, Systems Engineering, and night management Change Support Recycle started tasks for MQ, DB2, CICS, zOSconnect, and similar systems outside of IPL windows Modify CVTimers during major application release weekends to accommodate revised IPL schedules Vary off CHIPIDs, paths, or networking components to support IBM or vendor hardware maintenance Vary storage devices on or off as they are added, removed, re-initialized, or formatted Execute Power-On Resets of Mainframe CECs, Coupling Facilities, and IDAA devices; support structure moves and failover processes Manage E-Health (AE60) system failovers using DB2 Connect software and system commands HMC (Hardware Management Console) Operations Manage restricted access HMC operations controlling the full mainframe environment Create and maintain Custom Grouping file system layouts and naming conventions (POR profiles, LPAR load/dump profiles, capacity profiles, SOFTCAP, weights, etc.) Maintain and replicate HMC configuration data across all active HMCs Maintain STP/time arbiter roles and manage time arbiter movement during POR changes Manage dynamic dispatch (DYNDISP) of Coupling Facilities Implement system capacity changes on LPARs based on Capacity Team data; execute Capacity on Demand procedures in emergencies During z/OS hardware upgrades: create new CEC profiles, determine activation orders, configure BCPii networking, and bring new devices online Emergency Response Perform address space dumps or full stand-alone dumps on crashed/locked systems or abended started tasks Initiate system restoration and task restarts while notifying appropriate engineering teams Identify and cancel looping jobs that threaten LPAR stability; attempt to contact job owners first Investigate issues by reviewing logs for errors, tracking user activity, and managing user accounts Restore user IDs and create temporary passwords for locked-out users Cancel hung TSO or automation sessions blocking system access Bring all DBAR systems online in the appropriate Data Center during major emergencies or outages Software Product Upgrades Support software product upgrade processes, ensuring compatibility and testing prior to upgrade execution Verify upgrade success post-implementation and resolve any resulting issues