CICS System Programmer

Role :- CICS System Programmer

Location :- Salisbury NC/Boston MA/Frisco TX

JD CICS System programmer

5-8 years of extensive hands-on experience as a CICS Systems Programmer on z/OS.

Job Summary: We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced CICS Systems Programmer to join our dedicated mainframe infrastructure team. The successful candidate will be responsible for the installation customization maintenance and performance tuning of IBM CICS Transaction Server (CICS TS) environments on z/OS. This role is crucial for ensuring the stability availability and optimal performance of our mission-critical online transaction processing systems. The CICS Systems Programmer will work closely with application development teams z/OS Systems Programmers DB2 DBAs MQ Administrators and operations staff to provide expert-level support and strategic guidance for our CICS environments.

Key Responsibilities:

• CICS Installation & Customization:

• Plan prepare and execute installations upgrades and migrations of IBM CICS Transaction Server (CICS TS) across various versions (e.g. from CICS TS 5.x to 6.x).

• Perform comprehensive customization of CICS regions including system initialization parameters (SIT) resource definitions (DFHRPL DFHCSD PPT JCT DCT FCT PCT etc.) and startup JCL.

• Apply IBM maintenance (PTFs APARs) to CICS TS and related products using SMP/E.

• CICS Maintenance & Support:

• Provide expert-level support for CICS production and development environments diagnosing and resolving complex CICS-related incidents and problems promptly.

• Analyze CICS dumps (system and transaction) traces logs (e.g. system log journal logs) and messages to identify root causes of issues.

• Participate in on-call rotation for 24/7 support of critical CICS systems.

• Manage and maintain CICS security definitions in collaboration with mainframe security administrators (RACF/ACF2/Top Secret).

• Performance Monitoring & Tuning:

• Proactively monitor CICS region health transaction response times CPU utilization storage usage and other key performance indicators using tools like Omegamon for CICS CICS Performance Analyzer (CICS PA) and SMF data.

• Analyze performance data identify bottlenecks and recommend tuning improvements for CICS regions applications and system resources (e.g. storage dispatching queueing).

• Work with application teams to optimize CICS application performance and resource consumption.

• CICS Connectivity & Integration:

• Configure and maintain CICS connectivity to other mainframe subsystems such as DB2 MQ IMS DB/DC VSAM and external systems (e.g. through CICS Web Services CICS Transaction Gateway (CTG) IPIC MRO LU6.2).

• Troubleshoot inter-region communication (MRO ISC) and distributed program link (DPL) issues.

• Support and troubleshoot issues related to CICS web services and RESTful API integration.

• ISV Product Management:

• Install configure upgrade and maintain various Independent Software Vendor (ISV) products that integrate with CICS (e.g. debugging tools monitoring tools transaction management tools from vendors like Broadcom/CA BMC Rocket Software).

• Automation & Scripting:

• Develop and maintain JCL REXX CLISTs and other scripts for CICS administration monitoring automation and problem diagnosis.

• Collaboration & Documentation:

• Work closely with application development teams providing technical guidance code review assistance (related to CICS API usage) and support for new application deployments.

• Collaborate with z/OS Systems Programmers on shared resources system-level issues and overall mainframe health impacting CICS.

• Create and maintain comprehensive documentation for CICS installations configurations operational procedures and troubleshooting guides.

• Adhere to ITIL best practices for change management incident management and problem management.

• Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity:

• Participate in the planning testing and execution of disaster recovery procedures for CICS environments ensuring high availability and quick recovery of critical online services.

Required Skills and Experience:

• 5-8 years of extensive hands-on experience as a CICS Systems Programmer on z/OS.

• In-depth knowledge and hands-on experience with IBM CICS Transaction Server (CICS TS) installation customization maintenance and problem determination across multiple versions (ideally including CICS TS 5.x and higher).

• Strong proficiency in SMP/E for CICS and related product maintenance.

• Expertise in CICS Resource Definition Online (RDO) and batch definitions.

• Solid understanding of CICS architecture transaction flow storage management (DSA ECDSA GDSA) dispatching and task control.

• Proficiency in JCL TSO/ISPF and REXX or CLIST for CICS administration and automation.

• Experience with CICS performance monitoring and tuning using tools like Omegamon for CICS CICS Performance Analyzer (CICS PA) or similar.

• Ability to analyze CICS system dumps (e.g. IPCS) traces and logs for root cause analysis.

• Hands-on experience with CICS connectivity options (MRO ISC IPIC EXCI) and their troubleshooting.

• Familiarity with CICS integration with other mainframe subsystems (e.g. DB2 MQ VSAM).

• Understanding of mainframe security products (RACF ACF2 or Top Secret) as they relate to CICS resource security.

• Excellent analytical problem-solving and troubleshooting skills.

• Strong communication (written and verbal) and interpersonal skills with the ability to collaborate effectively with diverse technical teams.

• Ability to work independently and manage multiple priorities in a dynamic high-pressure environment.

Desired Skills and Experience (Plus Points):

• Experience with CICS Web Services JSON and RESTful API integration in CICS.

• Knowledge of CICS Transaction Gateway (CTG) administration.

• Experience with CICS-DB2 attachment facility and performance considerations.

• Familiarity with IBM MQ for z/OS configuration and its use by CICS applications.

• Experience with CICS application debugging tools.

• Knowledge of z/OS operating system fundamentals including JES2/JES3 SMS and WLM.

• Familiarity with Agile/DevOps methodologies in a mainframe context.
• Certifications related to CICS or z/OS