Mainframe Senior Architect – Performance & Capacity Management

Company :

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 zEnterprise 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. Essential responsibilities include Capacity Forecasting, Performance Tuning of applications, middleware (CICS, Db2), and Workload Manager (WLM) policies, Data Analysis leveraging tools like RMF, SMF, SAS/MXG, and Omegamon, Billing & Cost Optimization through Sub-Capacity Reporting Tool (SCRT) processing, and Cross-functional Collaboration with application and DevOps teams. Must-haves include 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, and proven ability to troubleshoot and optimize mainframe workloads in real time. Nice-to-haves include experience with ZPCR, Macro4 Freezeframe, BMC Thruput Manager, TADz, and IntelliMagic, experience working with highly transactional, large-scale data systems, ability to create executive dashboards and operational reporting tools, and the ability to code SAS for generating reports.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Take a lead role to provide strategic consultation to business customers in defining or designing more complex business processes, functions and organizational structures, as well as in researching, identifying and internally marketing enabling technologies based on customer capability requirements. Facilitate development of more complex enterprise business solutions that combine knowledge of particular business processes and issues, general technological options, and process facilitation techniques. Participate in more complex enterprise strategy development, including environmental analysis, opportunity identification, value cases and business innovation portfolio development.
• Take a lead role to specify and design large or more complex systems, solutions, networks, infrastructure elements, or processes. Select appropriate design standards, methods and tools and ensure that they are applied effectively. Review others’ system design to ensure selection of appropriate technology, efficient use of resources and integration of multiple systems and technology. Establish policy for selection of more complex architecture components. Evaluate and undertake impact analysis on more complex major design options. Ensure that the system architecture balances functional, service quality and systems management requirements.
• Use appropriate tools, including models of components and interfaces, to contribute to the development of more complex architectures. Take a lead role to produce detailed component requirements, specifications and translates these into detailed solutions/designs for implementation using selected products. Provide advice on technical aspects of system development, integration (including requests for changes, deviations from specifications, etc.) and processes.  Ensure that relevant technical and business strategies, policies, standards and practices are applied correctly.
• Select and use more complex tools and methods to establish, clarify, and communicate the functional and non-functional requirements of system users, their characteristics, and tasks.  Take a lead role to identify the technical, organizational, and physical environment in which more complex products or systems will operate. Identify, propose, initiate, and lead significant improvement programs, taking responsibility for the quality and appropriateness of the work performed and the realization of measurable business benefits. Modify