Systems Administrator - IBM iSeries

The Systems Administrator - IBM iSeries/AS400 is responsible for the administration, maintenance, security, and optimization of the organization's IBM i (AS/400) environment, and its connected business applications and infrastructure, to ensure maximum system availability, reliability, and performance. They manage system upgrades, patching, backup and recovery processes, performance monitoring, and security administration while maintaining adherence to organizational standards and best practices. Working closely with Infrastructure, Engineering, and business teams, they help resolve system issues, support strategic initiatives, and contribute to ongoing operational improvements.

Responsibilities

• Administer and maintain the IBM iSeries (AS/400) environment, including hardware, IBM i operating systems, DB2/400 databases, and related infrastructure components.
• Monitor system health, performance, capacity, CPU utilization, memory usage, and disk consumption to ensure optimal performance and availability.
• Perform system upgrades, operating system updates, patches, PTF installations, and software deployments while minimizing business disruption.
• Configure, manage, and test backup, recovery, and disaster recovery procedures to ensure business continuity and data integrity.
• Execute regular backup and restoration activities and validate recovery readiness for critical business systems.
• Create, maintain, and administer user profiles, authorities, and security controls in accordance with company policies and regulatory requirements.
• Monitor security logs, investigate vulnerabilities, and collaborate with internal stakeholders to remediate security-related issues.
• Conduct performance tuning activities including workload management, job scheduling, memory optimization, storage management, and system balancing.
• Implement and maintain monitoring tools and processes to proactively identify performance bottlenecks and operational risks.
• Provide technical support for IBM iSeries-based applications, partnering with developers and business teams to resolve issues and optimize application performance.
• Troubleshoot hardware, software, operating system, database, and network-related issues affecting the IBM i environment.
• Maintain accurate documentation of system configurations, procedures, backup schedules, recovery plans, and operational standards.
• Generate system performance and capacity reports to support planning, forecasting, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Collaborate with cross-functional IT teams on IBM i-related projects, including migrations, upgrades, integrations, and new implementations.
• Participate in on-call support rotations as needed to address critical system issues outside normal business hours.
• All other duties as assigned to meet evolving business needs.

Qualifications

• Education: High School Diploma or GED equivalent required; Undergraduate degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field preferred.
• Certification/Licensure: IBM i administration certifications, including IBM Certified System Administrator credentials, are preferred but not required.
• Experience: 7+ years of hands-on experience administering IBM iSeries (AS/400) environments in a production setting.
• Strong experience with IBM i (OS/400), DB2/400, system administration, performance tuning, security management, backup and recovery, and troubleshooting.
• Proficiency with IBM i administration tools and utilities, including IBM Navigator for i, IBM Operations Navigator, and related platform management tools.
• Strong knowledge of IBM i hardware configurations, storage management, system architecture, and diagnostic procedures.
• Experience scripting and automating administrative processes using CL (Control Language), SQL, or comparable scripting technologies.
• Familiarity with modern integration technologies, including web services, APIs, and third-party solutions supporting IBM i environments.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, organizational, and communication skills with the ability to interact effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Demonstrated discretion and confidentiality in handling and protecting sensitive information.
• Technical: Proficient with common office technologies, including Windows PCs, Microsoft O365 (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) and web conferencing (Teams, Zoom, Webex, etc.)
• Environment: Comfort commuting to/from and working in a 100% on-site setting (listed in this posting), with travel for related meetings/events.