Mainframe Senior Architect Capacity Management

Company : enGen Job Description : JOB SUMMARY

CANDIDATE MUST BE US Citizen (due to contractual/access requirements)

Highmark is seeking a highly motivated Mainframe Senior Architect to join the Mainframe Platform Services team. This role is accountable for the performance and capacity management of Highmark’s IBM enterprise mainframe environment, ensuring optimal system efficiency, scalability, and cost-effectiveness. The position requires deep technical expertise across core mainframe technologies, including z/OS, Db2, IMS, CICS, MQ, and related subsystems. Responsibilities include proactively monitoring system resource utilization (CPU, memory, storage), analyzing workload trends, and forecasting future infrastructure requirements to prevent performance bottlenecks and support business growth.

This role operates within a Parallel Sysplex environment, balancing system performance with financial efficiency. A strong understanding of IBM mainframe pricing models, including MSUs and MIPS, is essential to support effective cost optimization while maintaining high service levels.

• Capacity Forecasting & Planning:
  Performing detailed trend analysis, usage modeling, and predicting hardware or MIPS growth based on business cycles to ensure infrastructure readiness.
• Performance Tuning & Optimization:
  Proactively tuning applications, middleware (CICS, Db2), and Workload Manager (WLM) policies to optimize enterprise hardware and software, ensuring low latency during peak workloads.
• Data Analysis & Reporting:
  Leveraging tools like RMF, SMF, SAS/MXG, and Omegamon to interpret and extract key performance metrics, and creating executive dashboards and operational reports.
• Billing & Cost Optimization:
  Managing IBM mainframe pricing models, including MSUs and MIPS, through Sub-Capacity Reporting Tool (SCRT) processing and aligning infrastructure capacity with financial constraints.
• Cross-functional Collaboration:
  
  Communicating technical findings and collaborating effectively with application, database, and Dev Ops teams, as well as executive leadership.
• Proactive Problem Solving:
  Designing preventative strategies and providing root-cause diagnostic capabilities to resolve real-time performance bottlenecks during critical high-volume business windows.

• 10+ years of mainframe systems experience in large, multi-LPAR, Parallel Sysplex z/OS environments.
• Expertise in real-time mainframe performance monitoring and capacity management.
• Deep experience with RMF, SMF, WLM, and other mainframe performance tools.
• Strong hands-on skills in REXX and JCL.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint.
• Proven ability to troubleshoot and optimize mainframe workloads in real time.
• Mastery of IBM z/OS and IBM Z hardware architecture, logical partition (PR/SM) configuration, and Sysplex clustering.
• Advanced tuning of Workload Manager (WLM) policies, general processors, and zIIP (IBM z Integrated Information Processor) configurations.
• Ability to read, interpret, and extract metrics from SMF (System Management Facility) and RMF (Resource Measurement Facility) data records.
• In-depth knowledge of how major workloads like DB2, CICS, IMS, and MQ consume system resources and impact transaction response times.

• Experience with ZPCR, Macro4 Freeze frame, BMC Thruput Manager, TADz, and Intelli Magic.
• Experience working with highly transactional, large-scale data systems.
• Ability to create executive dashboards and operational reporting tools.
• Ability to code SAS for generating reports.
• Proficiency in reporting and data modeling languages/tools such as SAS/MXG,