CICS System Programmer / Remote USA
CICS System Programmer Location: Salisbury, NC/Boston, MA/Frisco, TX Please submit senior profiles with minimum experience of 15+ years. Job Summary: We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced CICS Systems Programmer to join our dedicated mainframe infrastructure team. The successful candidate will be responsible for the installation, customization, maintenance, and performance tuning of IBM CICS Transaction Server (CICS TS) environments on z/OS. This role is crucial for ensuring the stability, availability, and optimal performance of our mission-critical online transaction processing systems. The CICS Systems Programmer will work closely with application development teams, z/OS Systems Programmers, DB2 DBAs, MQ Administrators, and operations staff to provide expert-level support and strategic guidance for our CICS environments. Key Responsibilities:
- CICS Installation & Customization
- Plan, prepare, and execute installations, upgrades, and migrations of IBM CICS Transaction Server (CICS TS) across various versions (e.g., from CICS TS 5.x to 6.x).
- Perform comprehensive customization of CICS regions, including system initialization parameters (SIT), resource definitions (DFHRPL, DFHCSD, PPT, JCT, DCT, FCT, PCT, etc.), and startup JCL.
- Apply IBM maintenance (PTFs, APARs) to CICS TS and related products using SMP/E.
- CICS Maintenance & Support
- Provide expert-level support for CICS production and development environments, diagnosing and resolving complex CICS-related incidents and problems promptly.
- Analyze CICS dumps (system and transaction), traces, logs (e.g., system log, journal logs), and messages to identify root causes of issues.
- Participate in on-call rotation for 24/7 support of critical CICS systems.
- Manage and maintain CICS security definitions in collaboration with mainframe security administrators (RACF/ACF2/Top Secret).
- Performance Monitoring & Tuning
- Proactively monitor CICS region health, transaction response times, CPU utilization, storage usage, and other key performance indicators using tools like Omegamon for CICS, CICS Performance Analyzer (CICS PA), and SMF data.
- Analyze performance data, identify bottlenecks, and recommend tuning improvements for CICS regions, applications, and system resources (e.g., storage, dispatching, queueing).
- Work with application teams to optimize CICS application performance and resource consumption.
- CICS Connectivity & Integration
- Configure and maintain CICS connectivity to other mainframe subsystems such as DB2, MQ, IMS DB/DC, VSAM, and external systems (e.g., through CICS Web Services, CICS Transaction Gateway (CTG), IPIC, MRO, LU6.2).
- Troubleshoot inter-region communication (MRO, ISC) and distributed program link (DPL) issues.
- Support and troubleshoot issues related to CICS web services and RESTful API integration.
- ISV Product Management
- Install, configure, upgrade, and maintain various Independent Software Vendor (ISV) products that integrate with CICS (e.g., debugging tools, monitoring tools, transaction management tools from vendors like Broadcom/CA, BMC, Rocket Software).
- Automation & Scripting
- Develop and maintain JCL, REXX, CLISTs, and other scripts for CICS administration, monitoring, automation, and problem diagnosis.
- Collaboration & Documentation
- Work closely with application development teams, providing technical guidance, code review assistance (related to CICS API usage), and support for new application deployments.
- Collaborate with z/OS Systems Programmers on shared resources, system-level issues, and overall mainframe health impacting CICS.
- Create and maintain comprehensive documentation for CICS installations, configurations, operational procedures, and troubleshooting guides.
- Adhere to ITIL best practices for change management, incident management, and problem management.
- Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity
- Participate in the planning, testing, and execution of disaster recovery procedures for CICS environments, ensuring high availability and quick recovery of critical online services.
Required Skills and Experience:
- 5-8 years of extensive hands-on experience as a CICS Systems Programmer on z/OS.
- In-depth knowledge and hands-on experience with IBM CICS Transaction Server (CICS TS) installation, customization, maintenance, and problem determination across multiple versions (ideally including CICS TS 5.x and higher).
- Strong proficiency in SMP/E for CICS and related product maintenance.
- Expertise in CICS Resource Definition Online (RDO) and batch definitions.
- Solid understanding of CICS architecture, transaction flow, storage management (DSA, ECDSA, GDSA), dispatching, and task control.
- Proficiency in JCL, TSO/ISPF, and REXX or CLIST for CICS administration and automation.
- Experience with CICS performance monitoring and tuning using tools like Omegamon for CICS, CICS Performance Analyzer (CICS PA), or similar.
- Ability to analyze CICS system dumps (e.g., IPCS), traces, and logs for root cause analysis.
- Hands-on experience with CICS connectivity options (MRO, ISC, IPIC, EXCI) and their troubleshooting.
- Familiarity with CICS integration with other mainframe subsystems (e.g., DB2, MQ, VSAM).
- Understanding of mainframe security products (RACF, ACF2, or Top Secret) as they relate to CICS resource security.
- Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and troubleshooting skills.
- Strong communication (written and verbal) and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with diverse technical teams.
- Ability to work independently and manage multiple priorities in a dynamic, high-pressure environment.
Desired Skills and Experience (Plus Points):
- Experience with CICS Web Services, JSON, and RESTful API integration in CICS.
- Knowledge of CICS Transaction Gateway (CTG) administration.
- Experience with CICS-DB2 attachment facility and performance considerations.
- Familiarity with IBM MQ for z/OS configuration and its use by CICS applications.
- Experience with CICS application debugging tools.
- Knowledge of z/OS operating system fundamentals, including JES2/JES3, SMS, and WLM.
- Familiarity with Agile/DevOps methodologies in a mainframe context.
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