z/OS 3rd party Software Support Technician

z/OS 3rd party Software Support Technician
Remote

MUST:
Secret clearance required
Experienced z/OS 3rd party Software Support Technician
Must have experience with IBM z/OS
Must have Mainframe experience
Must have IAT Level 2 certification: (CCNA-Security, CSA+, GICSP, CompTIA Security+ CE, SSCP(

DUTIES:
Will plan, implement, sustain and provide technical guidance for product installations, upgrades, and maintenance to include IBM System z/OS 3rd party software/utilities.
Initiate calls to the vendor to ascertain proper prerequisite software levels, report problems and receive follow-through procedures.
Assist in the management of the technical life cycle of the z/OS software product, package, or subsystem assigned.
Use IBM SMP/e to successfully receive and apply z/OS software on an IBM Mainframe.
This requires experience interpreting SMP/e output messages to resolve software installation issues and requirements.
Use required software tools, including IBM SMP/e, IBM system utilities (including IEBGENER (generalized copy utility), IEBCOPY (utility to copy, compress, merge partitioned data sets), IDCAMS (access method services), to create, populate, update and configure required datasets and parameter libraries and members to successfully implement software installations and upgrades on the IBM mainframe platform.
Use system logs, create and interpret system traces and dumps, job output, and monitoring tools to diagnose and resolve IBM z/OS product abends on the IBM z/OS mainframe platform.
Provide customer support (internal and external) on questions and incidents relating to the software maintained on the mainframe systems, to include changes, upgrades, new and discontinued features, and known problems.
Ensure that all system resources required for software installation is available for successful implementation.
Ensure shared storage resources and the tools used to manage resource sharing are properly maintained.
Provide technical, engineering, and consulting services/support in running software products in a parallel sysplex environment.
Ensure installed software products are compliant with the current mainframe OS.
Ensure new release/version analysis is performed outside of the production environment before deployment to production environments.
Initiate release processes based on an approved Release Management Change Advisory Board (RMCAB) change request for new Mainframe products and upgrades to existing products.
Develop test plans, test cases, and test data for each release test effort. Test plans will include security compliance, functional, integration, performance, and regression testing to detect and resolve flaws that may impact the security, integrity, and stability of the product.
Coordinate with other system programmers and managers whenever the installation of a software product interfaces with another software product and will require changes to, or have an impact on, the other software. Contractor shall determine the impacts and risks to changes requested before change implementations are performed.
Ability to work in a team environment and share developed solutions for approval and implementation.
Adhere to, and participate in this organizations Change Management and CAB policies and procedures.
Work independently, conduct research, and provide training for lower level employees. *Quadrant, Inc. is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. Quadrant is committed to administering all employment and personnel actions on the basis of merit and free of discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, or status as an individual with a disability. Consistent with this commitment, we are dedicated to the employment and advancement of qualified minorities, women, individuals with disabilities, protected veterans, persons of all ethnic backgrounds and religions according to their abilities.