z/OS Mainframe Operator

TB Consulting for CVS Healthcare

Role: z/OS Mainframe Operations Specialist (L1/L2)

Client: Major Healthcare Entity (Phoenix-based)

Location: 100% Remote. Must live in the U.S. and not require sponsorship

Shift: 1st and 3rd Shift (Overnight) and Weekends include some Sundays. U.S. MST Time

Compensation: W2 or 1099

Opportunity Overview

We are seeking a high-caliber Mainframe Operations Specialist to join a mission-critical infrastructure team supporting a large-scale healthcare environment. This is not a "watch and wait" batch role; you will have direct responsibility for HMC operations, System IPLs, and POR execution across a complex multi-LPAR environment.

If you have a "keep the lights on" mentality and thrive in high-availability environments where uptime is measured in lives impacted, we want to talk to you.

Core Technical Responsibilities

System Health & LPAR Management

• Perform daily production/QA checkouts of all LPARs , verifying started tasks and hardware configurations.
• Monitor and manage JES spool utilization ; add capacity, purge output, or cancel batch jobs to maintain stability.
• Manage system resources ( CPU, JNUM, JQES, BUFX ) and execute "spin-offs" for resource-intensive tasks.
• Execute recycle procedures for MQ, DB2, CICS, and zOSconnect subsystems.

Console & Hardware Operations (HMC)

• Manage restricted-access HMC operations , including POR profiles, LPAR load/dump profiles, and capacity weights.
• Execute Power-On Resets (POR) of mainframes, Coupling Facilities, and IDAA devices.
• Perform Data Transfer Pool Swaps and manage STP/time arbiter roles.
• Support z/OS hardware upgrades by configuring BCPii networking and creating new CEC profiles.

Change Management & IPLs

• Own the Sunday Mainframe Change Window , managing full System IPLs and PARMLIB updates.
• Maintain the master IPL SHEET (SOP) , accounting for PORs, GDPS changes, and z/OS upgrades.
• Lead weekly Thursday IPL review meetings with Systems and Hardware Engineering.

Emergency Response & Support

• Identify and mitigate looping jobs; perform address space or full stand-alone dumps on crashed systems.
• Execute DBAR system restoration in alternate data centers during major outages.
• Provide Level 1/2 triage, including TSO session management and user ID restoration.

Qualifications

• Must-Have: Hands-on experience in a Production z/OS Mainframe Operations environment.
• Command Line Mastery: Proficiency with JES2/JES3, VTAM, TSO/ISPF , and MVS system commands.
• Hardware Familiarity: Proven experience with HMC, POR, and LPAR configuration.
• Operational Discipline: Experience managing GDPS/Parallel Sysplex environments is highly preferred.
• Shift Flexibility: Must be comfortable and proven in a 3rd shift (Overnight) capacity.

Why This Role?

This is a rare 100% remote opportunity to work on a modern mainframe stack ( z16/z15 ) for a massive healthcare infrastructure. You will be a key player in the Sunday Change Windows , giving you high visibility and technical ownership that most "Operator" roles lack.