Senior Mainframe Performance Engineer (z / OS)

Job Summary :

We are seeking a highly experienced and analytical z / OS PCM Expert to join our mainframe infrastructure team. This role is responsible for ensuring optimal performance, capacity planning, and proactive monitoring of z / OS systems. The ideal candidate will have deep expertise in system performance analysis, workload management, SMF / RMF data interpretation, capacity forecasting, and vendor collaboration. This role is critical to maintaining the health, efficiency, and scalability of enterprise mainframe environments.

Key Responsibilities :

Performance Management & Optimization

Monitor and analyze z / OS system performance using RMF, SMF, and IntelliMagic Vision.

Identify and resolve performance bottlenecks across CPU, memory, I / O, and network subsystems.

Tune WLM policies and system parameters to optimize workload distribution and throughput.

Collaborate with application and infrastructure teams to improve end-to-end performance.

Capacity Planning & LPAR Assessment

Forecast resource usage trends and plan for future capacity needs.

Conduct LPAR sizing assessments and recommend changes to PR / SM configurations.

Develop and maintain capacity models using historical SMF / RMF data.

Provide input for hardware upgrades, workload balancing, and infrastructure scaling.

Monitoring & Automation

Implement and maintain real-time monitoring solutions using tools like Omegamon, Mainview, and IntelliMagic.

BMC AMI ops knowledge a plus.

Develop automated alerts and dashboards for proactive issue detection and SLA tracking.

Integrate monitoring data with enterprise observability platforms and reporting systems.

Reporting & Analysis

Generate regular performance and capacity reports for technical and executive stakeholders.

Present findings and strategic recommendations based on data-driven analysis.

Maintain documentation of performance baselines, tuning activities, and capacity forecasts.

Vendor Collaboration

Work closely with IBM, BMC, IntelliMagic, and other vendors to evaluate, implement, and optimize performance tools and solutions.

Coordinate with vendors during tool upgrades, performance assessments, and issue resolution.

Participate in product roadmap discussions and provide feedback for enhancements.

Collaboration & Support

Work closely with z / OS system programmers, DB2 DBAs, MQ administrators, and application owners.

Participate in incident response and root cause analysis for performance-related outages.

Support disaster recovery and business continuity planning from a performance standpoint.

Required Skills and Experience :

8+ years of experience in z / OS performance and capacity management.

Expert-level knowledge of SMF, RMF, WLM, and z / OS internals.

Hands-on experience with IntelliMagic Vision, Omegamon, Mainview, or equivalent tools.

Strong analytical skills in interpreting system metrics and logs.

Proficiency in REXX, SAS, or Python for data analysis and automation.

Familiarity with LPAR configuration, PR / SM, and z / OS hardware architecture.

Experience working with vendors on tool deployment and optimization.

Excellent communication and documentation skills.

Desired Skills and Experience :

Experience with AI-driven performance analytics platforms.

Knowledge of z / OS Connect, zCX, and hybrid cloud performance considerations.

Exposure to DevOps and observability practices in mainframe environments.

Understanding of capacity licensing models (e.g., zCAP, MSU, SCRT).

Certifications :

IBM Certified Specialist – System z Performance and Capacity Management ( Preferred )