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 & IPLsOwn 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.
