ONLY US CITIZENS with Active Public Trust Clearance
FULLY REMOTE
Position Summary
IBM Mainframe Systems and Database SME are key members of the Public Sector Program Management team, responsible for delivering mission-aligned solutions with a strong focus on technical excellence, regulatory compliance, and stakeholder satisfaction. They will provide operational support, administration, tuning, troubleshooting, and advisory services for IBM z/OS version 12 and DB2 version 12 environments supporting federal government systems. This role requires hands-on experience with DB2 database administration, system-level support, account management, performance optimization, and migration activities within large-scale enterprise mainframe environments. The position will serve as both a technical contributor and advisory resource, providing over-the-shoulder guidance to operational teams while supporting mission-critical systems in secure government environments. They are expected to stay current with applicable public sector standards, policies, and best practices to consistently deliver high-quality, solutions that address the diverse needs of government and public sector organizations.
A Glimpse into the Daily Routine of an IBM Mainframe Systems and Database SME
An IBM Mainframe Systems and Database SME monitors and supports IBM z/OS and DB2 version 12 environments to maintain system stability, availability, and performance across enterprise government platforms. Daily activities include DB2 performance tuning, troubleshooting database and system issues, managing user accounts and access controls, supporting database maintenance activities, and coordinating migration efforts across multiple teams and environments. The role works closely with infrastructure teams, application teams, security personnel, and IBM support to resolve technical issues, optimize system operations, and maintain compliance with federal security and operational standards while providing hands-on administration and technical advisory support.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
1. Administer and support IBM z/OS and DB2 version 12 across enterprise mainframe platforms
2. Perform DB2 performance tuning, query optimization, buffer pool management, and subsystem analysis to improve system efficiency and stability
3. Create, manage, and maintain DB2 user accounts, permissions, roles, and access controls in accordance with government security standards
4. Troubleshoot and resolve complex DB2, z/OS, connectivity, storage, and application-related issues within production and non-production environments
5. Support database migration activities including data validation, schema migration, and coordination between development, infrastructure, and application teams
6. Perform database maintenance activities including reorgs, runstats, image copies, recovery support, and space management
7. Coordinate with internal stakeholders, vendors, and IBM support teams to resolve incidents, implement fixes, and support operational improvements
8. Provide over-the-shoulder advisory and technical guidance to operations and support teams while maintaining hands-on administration responsibilities
9. Participate in change and incident management, root cause analysis, disaster recovery activities
10. Support system upgrades, patch management, maintenance activities, and migration initiatives within mainframe environments
11. Analyze system performance metrics and proactively recommend improvements to optimize reliability, scalability, and operational efficiency
12. Foster strong relationships with stakeholders, actively engaging and communicating to ensure alignment and successful delivery of projects
Qualifications
1. Must be a US Citizen
2. Available during customer working hours, as needed—both for scheduled and impromptu support
3. Experience supporting IBM mainframe environments within public sector or federal government contracting organizations
4. Hands-on experience administering and supporting IBM z/OS version 12 and DB2 version 12 environments
5. Strong expertise in DB2 performance tuning, subsystem configuration, SQL optimization, account administration, and troubleshooting
6. Experience supporting enterprise mainframe infrastructure including JCL, TSO/ISPF, SDSF, RACF, and storage management processes
7. Experience performing database maintenance, backup and recovery operations, migration support, and system performance analysis
8. Ability to analyze production issues, identify root causes, and implement corrective actions in high-availability environments
9. Experience coordinating with cross-functional technical teams, vendors, and IBM support
10. Strong understanding of federal security standards, operational controls, and compliance requirements
11. Excellent analytical, troubleshooting, communication, and documentation skills
Ability to work independently while supporting collaborative operational environments
12. Excellent communication skills to effectively collaborate and engage stakeholders
13. Detail-oriented and able to stand behind the quality of the work
Able to properly understand and communicate level of effort, define due dates, and meet deadlines
14. Ability to work Eastern Standard Time Zone schedule
Nice-to-Have Skills and Experience
Active Clearance: Public Trust (DOJ Preferred) or higher
Certifications: IBM Certified Database Administrator – Db2, IBM z/OS Mainframe Practitioner or equivalent IBM mainframe certification, ITIL Foundation Certification
Experience supporting large-scale federal financial, healthcare, defense, or civilian agency mainframe environments
Hands-on experience: IBM CICS, IMS, MQ, WebSphere, and related IBM enterprise technologies
Familiarity with automation and scheduling tools including Control-M, CA7, Ansible, or enterprise workload automation platforms
Experience supporting cloud-connected or hybrid mainframe modernization initiatives
Knowledge of disaster recovery planning, high availability configurations, and enterprise resiliency strategies
Experience with security administration tools including RACF, ACF2, or Top Secret
Familiarity with DevOps practices, CI/CD integration, and mainframe modernization initiatives
Experience supporting audit remediation, compliance reporting, and operational readiness assessments within government environments
Stay updated with emerging AWS cloud technologies, public sector regulations, industry trends, and best practices related to application migrations
Job Types: Full-time, Part-time, Contract
Pay: $70.00 - $120.00 per hour
Work Location: Remote
