What are the responsibilities and job description for the Mainframe z/OS Technical Lead / L3 Engineer position at Smart IT Frame LLC?
Title: Mainframe z/OS Technical Lead / L3 Engineer
Location: Hybrid - McLean, VA
Type: Contract
About Smart IT Frame:
At Smart IT Frame, we connect top talent with leading organizations across the USA. With over a decade of staffing excellence, we specialize in IT, healthcare, and professional roles, empowering both clients and candidates to grow together.
Job Description
We are seeking a senior Mainframe Z/OS Technical Lead to act as the client-side SME overseeing outsourced mainframe services and guiding a small internal team.
Responsibilities:
- Provide technical oversight of vendor-managed mainframe operations
- Review daily operations, incidents, RCA, changes, and releases
- Validate vendor recommendations and ensure adherence to SLAs and ITIL processes
- Act as escalation point for complex mainframe issues
- Provide expert guidance on z/OS, Sysplex, WLM, JES, and RACF
- Oversee IMS (DB/DC), DB2 for z/OS, and CICS environments
- Review system performance, capacity, availability, and stability
- Recommend improvements for performance, automation, and cost optimization
- Identify risks, technical debt, and modernization opportunities
- Review DR, BCP, backup, and recovery strategies
- Provide architectural input for upgrades and future-state planning
- Communicate technical insights clearly to leadership and stakeholders
Required Skills:
- 10 years of strong hands-on mainframe experience
- Expert knowledge of z/OS, IMS, DB2, CICS
- Strong understanding of JCL, COBOL, and batch processing
- Experience with vendor-managed or outsourced environments
- Ability to influence, challenge, and guide vendors constructively
Preferred:
- Mainframe modernization or optimization experience
- ITIL process exposure
📩 Interested, apply today or share profiles at mario.i@smartitframe.com