Mainframe Infrastructure Engineer (Hybrid)

Kyndryl•Phoenix, AZ

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

Kyndryl is seeking a hands-on Mainframe Storage Engineer to support and evolve our z/OS environment end-to-end, covering core infrastructure and storage management. This role is responsible for stable operations, incident/problem/change management, capacity/performance tuning, and automation. The engineer will partner closely with application teams to ensure mission-critical workloads run reliably and securely. This is a project-based role where the individual will act as a subject matter expert in infrastructure, providing analysis, documenting work, offering solutions, and problem-solving. The role emphasizes a hands-on approach and understanding the interaction between systems and their environment. Opportunities for on-the-job certification and qualifications are available, with a career path towards Architect or Distinguished Engineer.

Requirements

6+ years in mainframe (z/OS) infrastructure or production support roles.
Strong hands-on knowledge of z/OS, JES2/JES3, TSO/ISPF, SDSF, USS/OMVS, SMP/E.
Storage fundamentals: DFSMS, DFSMShsm, ICF catalog/IDCAMS, DASD/tape operations, space/VTOC management.
Proficiency with monitoring and performance analysis (RMF/SMF, OMEGAMON, or similar).
Solid understanding of ITIL processes and experience using an ITSM tool (preferably ServiceNow) for incident/problem/change.
Strong analytical, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
Ability to work in a follow-the-sun/on-call support model.

Nice To Haves

Experience with Parallel Sysplex, GDPS, XCF, and high-availability designs.
Advanced tuning skills for DB2 buffer pools, CICS regions, IMS databases, MQ channels/queues.
Knowledge of networking on z/OS (TCP/IP stacks, VTAM/SNA, Enterprise Extender).
Scripting/programming: REXX, Assembler basics, COBOL reading, Python on USS.
Experience with capacity planning and cost optimization (MSUs, WLM policies).
Background in regulated/enterprise environments (financial services, government, healthcare, retail).
Automation/Dev: Zowe/Ansible.

Responsibilities

Administer DFSMS (ACS routines, storage groups/classes), DFSMShsm (HSM policies, space management, migration/recall), and Catalog/ICF management (IDCAMS).
Manage DASD and tape subsystems (e.g., DS8000, TS7700), volumes, VTOCs, data sets, and replication.
Partner with backup/recovery teams on policy, FlashCopy/Snap, DR readiness, and test execution.
Implement and maintain RACF/ACF2/Top Secret security controls; support audits and compliance (SOX, PCI, ISO, etc.).
Participate in BCP/DR planning, testing, and documentation.
Apply SRE/operational excellence practices: error budgets, toil reduction, problem elimination, and automation-first mindset.
Drive incident, problem, and change processes (e.g., in ServiceNow): root cause analysis, post-incident reviews, and controlled deployments.
Author and maintain runbooks, SOPs, architecture diagrams, and knowledge articles.