Job Details:

Job Title: Mainframe Engineer

Location: Toronto, ON (Hybrid 3 Days onsite)

Duration: 12+ Months contract with possibility of extension

Pay Rate: 50-55/hour CAD on INC

:

This is essentially a Senior Mainframe z/OS Patch Management Lead / Mainframe Infrastructure Engineer role. The person is responsible for keeping the IBM mainframe workplace secure, stable, and up to date.

Responsibilities:

- Own the IBM z/OS patch management strategy, including SMP/E maintenance (PTFs, APARs, RSU/CSI management) and subsystem patching (CICS, DB2, IMS, MQ, RACF, and related products).
- Define the rolling patch and maintenance calendar in alignment with IBM service delivery cycles, security advisories, and enterprise change freeze windows.
- Assess incoming IBM and ISV maintenance for applicability, risk, and priority; triage HIPER, security, and integrity PTFs for expedited handling.
- Set technical direction for, and provide hands-on oversight of, an offshore mainframe operations team executing patch installs, regression testing,



and validation across the z/OS estate.
- Establish and enforce patching standards, runbooks, and quality checkpoints so offshore-executed work meets the same bar as work performed directly.
- Review and approve patch testing results, rollback plans, and go/no-go decisions before production implementation, including for changes executed by the offshore team.
- Coordinate with systems programmers, security, and application teams to plan patch windows and manage changes through the CAB process.
- Track patch compliance across the mainframe estate; report on outstanding vulnerabilities, aging maintenance, and remediation timelines to management.
- Serve as the primary escalation point for patch-related incidents, including issues surfaced by the offshore team during off-hours windows; lead root cause analysis and remediation.

Required Skills:

IBM z/OS

MQ

RACF

📌 Mainframe Developer (Ontario)
🏢 Hays
📍 Ontario