IBM i (IBMi) System Administrator

Job Title: IBM i (IBMi) System Administrator

Location: Hybrid/Remote - Phoenix, AZ

Contract W2 only

What are the top 3 skills required for this role?

• Administer and support IBM i (OS/400) systems, including system configuration, performance monitoring, capacity planning, and lifecycle maintenance.

• Manage IBM Power Systems virtualization, including VIOS configuration, LPAR provisioning, virtual networking, and virtual storage mappings.

• Administer Fibre Channel SAN connectivity: zoning, masking, and path management in coordination with storage/network teams.

Position Summary

We are seeking an experienced IBM i (IBMi) System Administrator to support and enhance a mission-critical IBM i environment integrated with AIX/Power Systems, VIOS, Fibre Channel networking, and enterprise SAN storage. This role is responsible for platform reliability, performance, security (including SSL certificate management), and operational excellence across development, test, and production environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Administer and support IBM i (OS/400) systems, including system configuration, performance monitoring, capacity planning, and lifecycle maintenance.

• Manage IBM Power Systems virtualization, including VIOS configuration, LPAR provisioning, virtual networking, and virtual storage mappings.

• Administer Fibre Channel SAN connectivity: zoning, masking, and path management in coordination with storage/network teams.

• Configure, maintain, and troubleshoot Fibre Channel switches (e.g., Brocade/Cisco), including firmware updates, port health, and best-practice zoning standards.

• Support SAN storage operations (provisioning, LUN management, multipathing, replication concepts, and change coordination).

• Manage SSL/TLS certificates for IBM i services and integrated applications (certificate requests/CSRs, renewals, installation, rotation, and troubleshooting).

• Perform OS, PTF, and firmware maintenance for IBM i, VIOS, and related Power Systems components; plan and execute maintenance windows and rollback strategies.

• Implement and maintain backup, recovery, and high availability processes (e.g., BRMS, journaling, replication/HA tools as applicable); participate in DR testing.

• Monitor system alerts/logs, resolve incidents, perform root-cause analysis, and drive problem management to prevent recurrence.

• Harden systems and maintain security controls (user/profile management, auditing, encryption standards, vulnerability remediation, and access reviews).

• Create and maintain documentation for configurations, runbooks, diagrams, and operational procedures.

• Collaborate with application, database, storage, and network teams to deliver stable services and support project work (migrations, upgrades, integrations).

• Participate in on-call rotations and provide after-hours support for critical incidents and planned changes.

Required Qualifications

• 3 years of hands-on IBM i system administration experience in an enterprise environment.

• Experience administering Power Systems virtualization with VIOS (LPAR provisioning, virtual SCSI/NPIV, virtual networking).

• Strong working knowledge of Fibre Channel concepts, including zoning, WWPNs, multipathing, and SAN troubleshooting.

• Experience working with Fibre Channel switches (Brocade and/or Cisco MDS) and SAN storage platforms.

• Experience managing SSL/TLS certificates (CSR creation, renewals, chain/intermediate handling, installation, and validation).

• Knowledge of IBM i security fundamentals (user/profile management, authorities, auditing, and change control).

• Comfortable troubleshooting complex cross-domain issues involving OS, virtualization, storage, and network components.

• Strong documentation skills and ability to follow/maintain operational runbooks.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with high availability and replication solutions (e.g., PowerHA, MIMIX, iCluster, or similar).

• Experience with BRMS, save strategies, and restore/DR planning for IBM i.

• Working knowledge of AIX administration and/or HMC management for Power Systems.

• Scripting/automation experience (e.g., CL, RPG utilities, Python, Ansible, shell scripting) and monitoring tools.

• Familiarity with compliance frameworks and audit support (SOX, PCI, HIPAA, etc., as applicable).

• IBM certifications (e.g., IBM i, Power Systems, or security-related credentials).

Working Conditions

• May require participation in an on-call rotation and occasional after-hours maintenance.

• Work involves change management, scheduled maintenance windows, and incident response for production systems.

• Some travel to data centers or other sites may be required (if applicable).