Role Overview
We are seeking an experienced iSeries / IBM i Administrator with 6+ years of hands-on experience to support a clients managed IBM i environment. You will manage assigned L2 administration and operational activities from investigation through resolution, communicate risks and blockers proactively, and implement changes through established change-management and approval processes.
This role combines system administration, PTF and software maintenance, backup and recovery, security and authority management, journaling, performance tuning, monitoring, environment refreshes and vendor-supported issue resolution. You should have strong IBM i fundamentals, take ownership of operational deliverables and work independently. The position involves rotational support and participation in scheduled disaster-recovery and environment-refresh activities.
Key Responsibilities
IBM i System Administration
- Administer IBM i environments, including system configuration, CPU, memory and storage tuning, workload optimization, memory pools, job priorities, subsystems, job queues, job descriptions and class definitions.
- Investigate and resolve L2 incidents and service requests; take ownership through closure and escalate proactively when technical, access, vendor or schedule risks arise.
- Coordinate with IBM and third-party vendors for defect investigation, support cases, fixes and resolution tracking.
- Execute application user profile creation, object authority requests and other approved operational requests using documented procedures.
Patching, Upgrades & Software Management
- Own IBM i OS and PTF activities, including monitoring applicable HIPER and defective PTF notifications, impact assessment, planning, communication, implementation and validation.
- Perform or support IBM i OS upgrades, firmware and HMC updates, security patching, open-source package maintenance, and installation, configuration and maintenance of approved third-party software.
- Plan outage-dependent activities, distinguish work that can be completed in advance, and maintain accurate implementation, validation and backout documentation.
Backup, Recovery, DR & Environment Management
- Administer and troubleshoot backup and recovery operations using BRMS and VTL/tape-based processes.
- Participate in scheduled disaster-recovery testing and execution, including DR/HA switch activities, recovery validation and issue documentation.
- Execute approved QA and test environment refreshes from production backups and verify completion against documented controls.
- Support Db2 journaling, data replication and related operational recovery requirements.
Security, Database & Service Requests
- Administer IBM i user and object security across object, IFS and file levels; support authority reviews, access remediation and approved security changes.
- Support network-security and IBM i security tooling activities, security assessments and remediation within the managed-services scope.
- Execute approved Db2 data fixes using provided DML scripts and configure application secrets or field-level encryption through established procedures.
- Set up B2B file transfers using pre-developed templates and execute documented deployment requests without introducing application-code changes.
Monitoring, Performance & Automation
- Monitor system health and operational alerts; analyze QHST history logs, jobs, subsystems, queues, storage, workload and performance indicators.
- Perform performance tuning and capacity analysis, identify trends, and provide resource-utilization and capacity-planning inputs.
- Use CL/CLLE and IBM i SQL Services to improve repeatability and operational efficiency; contribute automation using Python, Ansible or Bash where appropriate and approved.
- Maintain runbooks, system documentation, change records, operational reports and knowledge-transfer materials for client-specific tooling.
Service Delivery Expectations
- Work effectively in a rotational coverage model, complete clear shift handoffs, and support scheduled after-hours or weekend activities for DR tests and environment refreshes.
- Follow incident, request, change and problem-management processes; protect production stability and maintain complete audit evidence.
- Meet defined service levels and operational measures for response, resolution, backlog health, quality, automation and customer satisfaction.
- Take ownership of assigned deliverables, investigate issues before escalating, communicate potential delays early, and work independently following knowledge transfer.
Qualifications
Required
- 6+ years of hands-on IBM i / AS400 / iSeries system-administration experience
- Strong IBM i administration fundamentals, including work management, CL commands, user/object security and operational troubleshooting
- Experience with PTFs, software installation, BRMS, journaling, backup/recovery, DR/HA, environment refreshes, performance tuning and system monitoring
- Working knowledge of Db2 for i fundamentals, IBM i SQL Services, files/tables/indexes/logical files and approved operational data fixes
- Ability to independently investigate issues, maintain documentation, follow change controls and communicate/escalate promptly
- Flexibility to work rotational shifts and planned after-hours activities
Strongly Preferred
- Hands-on experience with iDoctor, ACS, Robot products, X-Analysis, Implementor, IBM MQ, BRMS, PowerHA or comparable IBM i tooling
- CL or CLLE programming and operational scripting experience
- Exposure to Python, Ansible or Bash automation
- Experience with Powertech Exit Point Manager, encryption, antivirus/ransomware controls or IBM i network security
- Experience supporting IBM i managed services, production operations or distributed shift-based teams
- IBM i certification or relevant IBM Power Systems training
