IBM Consultant

IBM iSeries Technical Specialist – Job Description

Job Purpose

Provide expert‑level technical support for the IBM iSeries (AS/400 / IBM i) platform, acting as the escalation point for complex incidents and problems. Ensure platform stability, performance and availability while driving continuous improvement and supporting business‑critical applications.

Key Responsibilities

Incident & Problem Management

• Provide day‑to‑day support for IBM iSeries‑based enterprise applications, ensuring uptime, performance and reliability.
• Act as the escalation point for all IBM iSeries‑related incidents and problems.
• Diagnose and resolve complex system issues including performance degradation, job failures and system outages.
• Perform root cause analysis (RCA) on recurring or high‑impact incidents.

System Administration & Maintenance

• Manage and maintain IBM i operating system environments (PTFs, upgrades).
• Administer system security, user profiles and authority management.
• Monitor and optimise system performance across disk, CPU, memory and batch workloads.

Technical Expertise

• Strong knowledge of CL programming, QSH, SQL and DB2 for i.
• Troubleshoot issues within the Integrated File System (IFS).
• Manage and troubleshoot MQ Series / IBM MQ and other middleware components.
• Manage communications including TCP/IP, SNA and external system connectivity.
• Handle Digital Certificate Management on IBM i.
• Act as escalation point for desktop tools connecting to IBM i (iAccess Client Solutions, ODBC, Data Transfer, SFTP).
• Troubleshoot integrations between IBM i and other platforms, including cloud and open systems.
• Configure and support SSH server/client on IBM i.

Change & Release Management

• Assess and implement changes to the IBM i environment.
• Support application deployments and provide technical guidance during release activities.
• Maintain and update system documentation, runbooks and knowledge articles.

Collaboration & Mentoring

• Support first‑line and second‑line support teams.
• Collaborate with operations, application development, DBAs and infrastructure teams.
• Liaise with IBM and third‑party vendors for escalated support and licensing matters.
• Participate in capacity planning and technology roadmap discussions.

Essential Skills & Experience

• 5+ years hands‑on experience supporting IBM iSeries / AS400 / IBM i environments at an advanced level.
• Strong knowledge of IBM i OS (V7R3+).
• Proficiency in CL programming.
• Experience with DB2 for i (SQL, query optimisation, database administration).
• Solid understanding of IBM i security concepts (profiles, authority lists, auditing).
• Experience with job scheduling tools (Halcyon Scheduler or OS job scheduler).
• Knowledge of DR solutions and backup/recovery processes.
• Excellent knowledge of BRMS.
• Proficiency with MQ Series / IBM MQ on iSeries.
• Strong understanding of networking (TCP/IP, DNS, VPN) in IBM i environments.
• Familiarity with ITIL (Incident, Problem, Change).
• Excellent analytical and problem‑solving skills.

Knowledge of Third‑Party Applications

• DetectIT
• Password Self Help
• AldonCMS
• Filescope
• Lansa
• Gentran
• Powertech SIEM