Mainframe MQ Engineer (Chandler-AZ/Plano-TX/Jersey City-NJ, Charlotte-NC)

Mainframe MQ Engineer Open for W2 and C2C arrangements Location: Chandler, AZ; Plano, TX; Charlotte, NC; and Jersey City, NJ from Day 1 (Client prefer local folks)Hybrid Schedule: 3 Onsite Days (Tue, Wed, Thur) and 2 Remote Days (Mon, Fri)Duration: 6+ months, extendableIt is with Banking client with Implementation partnerMode of Interview: 2 Rounds mostly In personJob Description:The Role:Client is seeking an experienced Mainframe IBM MQ Engineer with strong hands-on expertise in IBM MQ for z/OS to support highly available, business-critical mainframe environments.The successful candidate will be responsible for the administration, configuration, monitoring, performance, security, maintenance, troubleshooting, and lifecycle management of IBM MQ infrastructure on z/OS.The engineer will work closely with application, CICS, IMS, network, security, operations, and other mainframe infrastructure teams.Responsibilities:Install, configure, administer, and support IBM MQ for z/OS environments.Configure and maintain MQ queue managers, queues, channels, listeners, transmission queues, and other MQ objects.Perform day-to-day administration and monitoring of MQ environments.Configure and support distributed queuing and communication between queue managers. IBM identifies communication between queue managers and distributed queuing as part of MQ for z/OS configuration.Configure, administer, and troubleshoot IBM MQ clusters.Monitor queue depths, channel status, queue manager availability, message flow, and overall MQ infrastructure health.Perform problem determination and root cause analysis for MQ-related production incidents.Support MQ recovery and restart activities.Support MQ upgrades, migrations, maintenance, patching, and lifecycle management.Support high-availability and disaster-recovery requirements for MQ environments.Configure and support MQ connectivity with mainframe applications, including CICS and IMS. IBM documents dedicated MQ adapters/bridges for interaction with both CICS and IMS.Partner with RACF/security teams to implement and maintain MQ security.Support channel authentication, connection authentication, TLS, and MQ access controls, where applicable. IBM documents channel authentication, TLS, security exits, and RACF access considerations for MQ for z/OS.Analyze MQ performance and implement tuning recommendations.Develop and maintain JCL, operational procedures, automation, and technical documentation.Participate in production changes, implementations, incident management, and problem management.Provide on-call and after-hours support for critical production issues when required.Required Qualifications:Strong hands-on experience with IBM MQ for z/OSStrong experience with z/OSExperience with JCLGood understanding of TCP/IP and network connectivityExperience with MQ problem determination and production support.Experience supporting high-volume, business-critical mainframe environments.Understanding of change, incident, and problem management processes.Troubleshoot production problems including:Channel failuresQueue manager problemsMessage delivery issuesMessages remaining on queuesConnectivity problemsSecurity/authorization failuresApplication-to-MQ connectivity issuesStrong knowledge of:Queue ManagersLocal and Remote QueuesTransmission QueuesMQ ChannelsChannel InitiatorsListenersDead Letter QueuesDistributed QueuingMQ ClusteringMQ securityMQ logging and recoveryMQ monitoring and troubleshootingPreferred Experience:CICS / MQ integrationIMS / MQ integrationRACFTCP/IPREXXTSO/ISPFSDSFSMP/ESysplex environmentsMQ Queue Sharing GroupsAutomation/monitoring toolsEnterprise scheduling tools such as CA7 or TWSDisaster Recovery / Business ContinuityPerformance monitoring and capacity managementManaged File Transfer (MFT)Pay Range: $65/hr - $70/hrThe specific compensation for this position will be determined by a number of factors, including the scope, complexity and location of the role as well as the cost of labor in the market; the skills, education, training, credentials and experience of the candidate; and other conditions of employment. Our full-time consultants have access to benefits including medical, dental, and vision as well as 401K contributions.