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.