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)