Senior Mainframe Engineer (Systems Programmer)

Acuity is seeking a Senior Mainframe Engineer to lead the design, implementation, and optimization of Acuity’s mainframe presence, ensuring performance, scalability, availability, and security across the infrastructure. This role provides technical leadership in system architecture, lifecycle management, and incident response, while driving automation and process improvements to increase reliability and efficiency. The Engineer partners with other engineers, security teams, and cross‑functional stakeholders to deliver solutions aligned with business objectives and regulatory standards, manages complex system issues, leads risk mitigation efforts, and mentors junior engineers while promoting knowledge sharing and fostering a culture of continuous improvement within the engineering team.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

• General System Work
  • Leads the implementation and optimization of mainframe systems and storage which meet performance, security, scalability, and availability requirements.
  • Works with mainframe engineers and cross-functional teams to design and integrate systems into cohesive infrastructures.
  • Provides expertise on best practices for system architecture, ensuring solutions align with business goals and technical standards.
  • Leads lifecycle planning and maintenance for hardware and software, including refreshes and major system upgrades, to ensure systems remain reliable, up to date, and minimally disrupted.
  • Drives large-scale infrastructure projects, including new deployments, migrations, and upgrades.
• System Monitoring and Optimization
  • Proactively monitors performance of critical systems to ensure adherence to SLAs and business objectives.
  • Identifies bottlenecks, resource constraints, and inefficiencies, applying corrective actions to optimize performance and availability.
  • Implements advanced system tuning techniques and fine-tunes configurations for maximum efficiency.
  • Designs automated monitoring, alerting, and reporting solutions to improve reliability.
• Problem Resolution
  • Leads the diagnosis and resolution of complex system issues involving hardware, software, networking, or outages.
  • Coordinates incident response efforts and drives post-incident reviews to identify root causes and prevent recurrence.
  • Develops and maintains incident management processes for timely, effective resolution of system failures.
• Security Mindset
  • Takes ownership of system security and compliance, ensuring enterprise systems meet regulatory standards and internal security policies.
  • Helps design and implement advanced security measures including RACF configurations, certificate management, OMVS permissions, and other security integrations.
  • Leads risk assessment, vulnerability management, and remediation across systems.
  • Partners with security teams to ensure ongoing protection against emerging threats.
• Documentation Practices
  • Develops and maintains comprehensive documentation of system configurations, architecture, and troubleshooting procedures.
  • Develops and maintains comprehensive architectural documentation, including system diagrams and data flows.
  • Establishes documentation standards for junior engineers to follow and ensures knowledge is shared across teams.
• Disaster Recovery/Backups
  • Leads disaster recovery planning and execution, ensuring business continuity for critical systems.
  • Manages enterprise backup and recovery processes, validating that data is protected and recoverable.
• Collaboration/Communication
  • Works with other engineers, vendors, business analysts and stakeholders to ensure smooth system implementation and integration.
  • Actively participates in architectural discussions, providing system infrastructure expertise.
  • Provides technical leadership during application deployments, ensuring seamless system integration.
  • Promotes cross-team collaboration and fosters a growth-oriented culture.
• Training and Career Growth
  • Mentors Mainframe Engineer I and II team members, providing hands-on guidance and technical coaching.
  • Reviews work, designs, and automation code from junior engineers, offering constructive feedback.
  • Leads knowledge-sharing workshops and promotes continuous professional development within the team.
  • Pursues certifications and professional training to stay current with emerging technologies and industry standards.
• Miscellaneous
  • Demonstrates regular and predictable attendance.
  • Complete mandatory company training.
  • Perform other duties as assigned.

EDUCATION:

Bachelor’s or Associate Degree in Computer Science, MIS or equivalent and continued field specific education.

EXPERIENCE:

8+ years practical experience in mainframe operations, technical support, information security and systems programming with 3-5 years of that time in a lead capacity.

OTHER QUALIFICATIONS:

• Expert technical proficiency with a range of tools and technologies, such as:
  • Operating Systems: z/OS including MVS and OMVS
  • Scripting & Coding: REXX, JCL, Bash, COBOL
  • Monitoring tools: SMF, RMF, SDSF, and other monitoring software
  • Version Control: Git
  • Job Schedulers: ZEKE
  • Security: Certificate Management, RACF, OMVS Permissions
  • Networking: TCP/IP, VIPA
  • Backup, Recovery, and Cyber Resiliency: Tape backups, IBM data replication technologies, Data immutability
• Professional Attributes
  • Excellent analytical and strategic thinker with the ability to break down highly complex problems and identify practical solutions.
  • Demonstrated leadership in managing system initiatives, mentoring junior engineers, and coordinating cross-functional teams.
  • Excellent communicator, capable of collaborating across multiple teams and influencing architectural decisions.
  • Committed to continuous learning, professional development, and adopting emerging technologies.
  • Able to manage priorities under pressure and lead incident response efforts when required.
  • Excellence in creating and updating documentation, test plans, and disaster recovery procedures.
  • Passion for delivering high-quality and reliable results.
  • Skilled mentor and coach, experienced in guiding junior team members and fostering team growth.
  • Proactive mindset with a focus on process optimization
  • Available to work outside standard hours as needed for changes or upgrades.
  • On-call availability for critical system incidents as needed.

*Acuity does not sponsor applicants for U.S. work authorization.* 

This job is classified as exempt.

The salary range for this position is $113,000 - $143,000 annually. This salary range is an estimate and the actual salary will vary based on applicant’s education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities.

For this role, Acuity offers a comprehensive benefits package, including a generous 401(k) contribution, medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance, paid time off, an Employee Assistance Program, and more. A full description of benefits and eligibility will be provided to candidates during the hiring process. 

We are an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. Applicants and employees are considered for positions and are evaluated without regard to mental or physical disability, race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, genetic information, military or veteran status, sexual orientation, marital status or any other protected Federal, State/Province or Local states unrelated to the performance of the work involved.

If you have a disability and require reasonable accommodations to apply or during the interview process, please contact our Talent Acquisition team at [email protected]. Acuity is dedicated to offering reasonable accommodations during our recruitment process for qualified individuals.