z/OS Mainframe Systems Programmer Lead

Salary: £63,000 - 103,000 per year

Requirements

• Typically 15+ years of hands-on experience in IBM z/OS systems programming.
• Minimum 5+ years of experience leading mainframe infrastructure or systems programming teams.
• Proven experience supporting large-scale enterprise, banking, or financial services environments.
• Extensive experience in installation, customization, upgrade, maintenance, and support of IBM and Broadcom (CA) mainframe products.
• Strong expertise in Parallel Sysplex, high availability, disaster recovery, and enterprise mainframe architecture.
• Extensive experience leading technical teams and large-scale mainframe initiatives.
• Expert knowledge of z/OS, SMP/E, TSO/ISPF, UNIX System Services (USS), SDSF, JCL, and RACF.
• Advanced expertise in Parallel Sysplex architecture, implementation, and administration.
• Extensive experience installing and supporting multiple IBM and Broadcom (CA) products.
• Deep understanding of z/OS system internals, performance tuning, and problem determination.
• Experience in enterprise change management and production support environments.
• Strong stakeholder management and leadership skills.
• Exceptional analytical, troubleshooting, and decision-making abilities.
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills.
• Experience working in highly regulated environments such as banking or financial services.
• Expertise in ACF2 security administration, GDPS, RACF security architecture, Assembler, REXX, OMEGAMON, RMF, and SMF.
• Experience with mainframe automation and infrastructure as code initiatives.
• Exposure to hybrid cloud integration and modernization programs involving IBM Z.
• Experience leading enterprise-wide platform transformation projects.
• IBM Mainframe or IBM Z certifications.
• Knowledge of audit, regulatory, and compliance frameworks applicable to financial services organizations.

Responsibilities

• We provide technical leadership and ownership of the enterprise mainframe platform.
• We lead the design, implementation, enhancement, and support of enterprise z/OS infrastructure environments.
• We provide technical leadership for z/OS operating system upgrades, maintenance, and system software lifecycle management.
• We architect and manage large-scale Parallel Sysplex environments ensuring high availability, resilience, and performance.
• We oversee installation, configuration, customization, and support of IBM and Broadcom (CA) products.
• We establish best practices, standards, and governance for mainframe infrastructure operations.
• We lead strategic initiatives involving platform modernization, automation, performance optimization, and capacity management.
• We drive root cause analysis and resolution of critical production incidents and platform-related problems.
• We act as the highest-level technical escalation point for complex infrastructure issues.
• We collaborate with enterprise architecture, security, application, and operations teams to deliver technical solutions.
• We support disaster recovery planning, testing, and business continuity requirements.
• We review infrastructure designs and provide recommendations for scalability, reliability, and operational efficiency.
• We mentor and coach junior and senior systems programmers, fostering technical growth within the team.
• We manage vendor relationships and coordinate software upgrades, patches, and product evaluations.
• We ensure adherence to security, risk, audit, and compliance requirements.
• We lead and support production implementations during planned maintenance windows, including off-hours activities when required.
• We drive platform stability, availability, security, and performance improvements.
• We establish infrastructure roadmaps and contribute to long-term technology strategy.
• We lead system software upgrades, migrations, and modernization initiatives.
• We ensure compliance with organizational policies, audit requirements, and regulatory standards.
• We mentor and develop team members while promoting a collaborative and high-performance culture.
• We participate in incident management and provide executive-level communication during critical situations.
• We support global operational requirements, including after-hours and weekend maintenance activities.
• We foster continuous improvement through automation, standardization, and operational excellence.
• We partner with business, technology, and vendor stakeholders to deliver strategic outcomes.

Technologies

• Architect
• Cloud
• IBM
• IBM Mainframe
• Incident Management
• Support
• REST
• Security
• Unix
• Windows
• AI

More

We are NTT DATA, a global business and technology services leader serving 75% of the Fortune Global 100. We are seeking a z/OS Mainframe Systems Programmer Lead to join our growing team in the UK and rest of Europe, with fully remote working possible and occasional preference for Sheffield. We offer a competitive salary and a comprehensive, locally competitive benefits package, with health and wellbeing as a priority. As a Global Top Employer and part of NTT Group, we invest heavily in innovation and R&D, and we are committed to responsible innovation, client success, and sustainable digital transformation. We hire locally whenever possible, and remote or hybrid arrangements may change based on client needs. We are an equal opportunity employer and promote a flexible, collaborative, high-performance culture.

last updated 35 week of 2026