Subject Matter Expert (Support&Ops)
Confirmed on the employer's own hiring board on Nov 2, 2026. First seen by Alion on Oct 28, 2026.
Job Summary
Job Description: Mainframe Storage Engineer / SpecialistRole SummaryWe are looking for an experienced Mainframe Storage Engineer / Specialist to support the administration, availability, capacity, performance, resiliency, and modernisation of enterprise IBM Z storage environments. The role requires strong hands-on expertise in DFSMS, DFSMSdss, DFSMShsm, DASD, Tape, Storage Management Subsystem (SMS), catalog management, storage provisioning, performance management, and disaster recovery.The individual will work closely with Mainframe infrastructure, system programming, application, database, backup, disaster recovery, operations, and storage teams to ensure highly available, resilient, secure, and optimised storage services for business-critical Mainframe platforms.
Key Responsibilities
Key ResponsibilitiesAdminister, configure, maintain, and support IBM Z Mainframe storage environments, including DASD, tape, virtual tape, and associated storage-management components.Manage and support DFSMS, DFSMSdss, DFSMShsm, and Storage Management Subsystem (SMS) configurations and policies.Configure and maintain SMS Storage Classes, Management Classes, Data Classes, Storage Groups, ACS routines, and storage policies.Perform DASD capacity management, allocation, provisioning, monitoring, reclamation, and optimisation across Mainframe storage environments.Administer and troubleshoot DFSMShsm (HSM) functions including migration, recall, backup, recovery, space management, and automatic storage-management processes.Manage catalogs and VSAM-related storage activities, including IDCAMS operations, catalog management, recovery, and troubleshooting.Support tape management, virtual tape environments, tape libraries, retention, vaulting, and media-management processes, depending on the environment.Monitor storage utilisation, capacity, availability, performance, I/O activity, and growth trends and proactively address capacity or performance risks.Perform problem determination for storage-related incidents using system logs, storage reports, SMF/RMF data, diagnostic information, dumps, and storage-monitoring tools.Support storage hardware provisioning, volume configuration, device management, and connectivity in collaboration with enterprise storage and IBM Z infrastructure teams.Support storage replication and recovery technologies for business continuity, high availability, disaster recovery, and data protection.Participate in DR exercises, storage failover/recovery testing, resiliency assessments, capacity planning, and business-continuity activities.Perform and support storage software installation, upgrades, maintenance, PTF application, lifecycle management, and compatibility assessments.Work with related Mainframe technologies and teams including z/OS, Db2, CICS, IMS, MQ, RACF, systems programming, databases, backup/recovery, automation, and operations.Develop and maintain REXX, JCL, ISMF procedures, storage utilities, or other automation to improve storage administration and operational efficiency.Support dataset allocation, movement, backup, restore, migration, recall, archive, retention, and recovery activities.Maintain technical documentation, including storage architecture, capacity records, configuration documentation, SOPs, operational procedures, recovery procedures, and audit evidence.Identify opportunities for storage optimisation, automation, capacity improvement, modernisation, observability, and operational cost reduction across the Mainframe platform.
Skill Requirements
Required Technical SkillsStrong hands-on knowledge of IBM z/OS Mainframe Storage ManagementDFSMS / DFSMSdfp DFSMShsm (HSM)DFSMSdss Storage Management Subsystem (SMS)DASD management and capacity planningSMS Storage Classes, Management Classes, Data Classes, Storage Groups, and ACS routinesVSAM, IDCAMS and catalog managementTape and Virtual Tape management Dataset allocation, migration, recall, backup, restore, archive, and recoveryStorage performance monitoring using RMF, SMF, and storage-management tools Knowledge of I/O, channels, storage devices, volumes, and IBM Z storage conceptsTSO/ISPF, ISMF and JCLREXX / scripting and storage automation Disaster recovery and storage resiliency conceptsStorage capacity, performance, and utilisation managementIncident, problem, and change managementStrong troubleshooting and root-cause-analysis skillsPreferred SkillsExposure to one or more of the following would be advantageous:IBM DS8000 family or comparable enterprise storage platformsIBM TS7700 Virtual Tape Library and enterprise tape technologiesStorage replication and resiliency technologies such as Metro Mirror, Global Mirror, and HyperSwapGDPS and IBM Z disaster-recovery/storage-resiliency conceptsFICON and IBM Z storage connectivity IBM Copy Services Manager (CSM) or equivalent storage replication-management solutionsMainframe tape-management products such as CA 1, Control-T, RMM, or equivalent Mainframe storage monitoring, reporting, capacity, and performance-analysis toolsCICS, Db2, IMS, IBM MQ storage requirements and conceptsRACF and Mainframe storage security concepts Enterprise backup, archive, retention, and data-protection technologiesStorage migration, consolidation, hardware refresh, and technology-upgrade projectsAnsible, Python, Git, REST APIs, or DevOps automation in a Mainframe/storage environmentMainframe storage modernisation and integration with hybrid-cloud, cyber-resiliency, and enterprise data-protection platforms
Other Requirements
ExperienceRelevant hands-on experience in Mainframe storage engineering, administration, system programming, or infrastructure support.Experience supporting business-critical enterprise IBM Z storage environments with high availability, performance, and resiliency requirements.Experience administering and troubleshooting DFSMS, DFSMShsm, DFSMSdss, SMS, DASD, catalog, VSAM, and tape environments.Experience with storage capacity planning, performance monitoring, provisioning, backup/recovery, migration, and optimisation.Experience supporting storage upgrades, migrations, disaster recovery, resiliency testing, and hardware/software lifecycle activities.Experience working within structured ITIL-based Incident, Problem, Change, and Release Management processes.Desired ProfileStrong analytical and problem-solving capability.Ability to independently troubleshoot complex Mainframe storage, capacity, performance, and availability issues.Strong understanding of enterprise storage architecture, data lifecycle management, backup/recovery, and resiliency concepts.Good written and verbal communication skills.Comfortable working with global Mainframe, storage, system programming, database, application, infrastructure, and vendor teams.Strong focus on availability, capacity, performance, resiliency, documentation, automation, and continuous improvement.Ability to proactively identify storage capacity, performance, and operational risks and coordinate appropriate remediation.