Company Description

Krasan Consulting Services is a Chicago boutique management consulting and technology solutions integrator. As a certified BEP WBE with the State of Illinois and a certified WBE, MBE, and DBE recognized by the City of Chicago, Krasan provides complex technology solutions and services for clients in the Public and Commercial sectors. With decades of experience, Krasan specializes in end-to-end technology solutions, integration, and implementation services and is proud to enable the success of our customers.

Role Title: Senior Platform Developer-PERL DB2 Database Administrator

Type of contract: W2

Location: Remote

Client: State of Illinois— Illinois Health and Family Services

Project: Mercator/ITX Upgrade Project

Job Description:

Position Overview

The Senior Platform Developer - DB2 Database Administrator will provide senior-level, hands-on IBM Db2 for z/OS and midrange database administration for HFS mission-critical applications. The resource will be responsible for DB2 technical configuration, database architecture, relational integrity, security, availability, performance, integration, space utilization, and database repair and recovery. The role supports database access used by screens, APIs, batch programs, web/online applications, and real-time transactional systems. The resource will work closely with application developers, platform architects, infrastructure teams, QA resources, security teams, and other technical stakeholders to ensure DB2 environments remain secure, available, recoverable, and appropriately tuned to support application and project requirements. The ideal candidate will possess a solid understanding of AIX midrange environments, mainframe batch processes, legacy system integration, and data manipulation pipelines—combined with a strong capability to analyze complex business logic and transform it into efficient, maintainable, and scalable technical solutions. This role demands exceptional analytical ability, attention to detail, and the capacity to function effectively in a fast-paced environment with multiple stakeholders including business users, architects, QA teams, and infrastructure units.

Key Responsibilities

1. Application Development & Maintenance

• Design, develop, enhance, and maintain mainframe applications using COBOL, JCL, DB2, CICS, VSAM, and related IBM mainframe technologies.
• Develop and optimize PERL scripts for automation, file processing, data transformation, and orchestration of batch jobs.
• Support AIX-based applications and utilities, ensuring high availability, performance optimization, and compatibility across environments.
• Troubleshoot and resolve complex defects, production issues, and system failures in both mainframe and AIX environments.
• Conduct code reviews and ensure adherence to coding standards, secure practices, and enterprise SDLC guidelines.

2. System Modernization & Migration Support

• Participate in modernization initiatives involving transition from legacy components into modernized systems or new frameworks. Conduct DB2 system and database tuning to improve database and application access performance.
• Assist in rewriting or re-engineering legacy PERL scripts, shell scripts, and COBOL modules to support evolving business and technical needs.
• Support the migration of batch processes, scheduling logic, and data files between mainframe, AIX, and distributed systems.
• Analyze existing application logic and recommend design improvements, refactoring strategies, and performance optimizations.

3. Environment Management & Operations Support

• Work closely with AIX system administrators to ensure stable deployment, patching, and configuration management. Execute and support DB2 utilities and maintenance activities, including COPY, RECOVER, REORG, RUNSTATS, CHECK DATA/CHECK INDEX, REBUILD INDEX, and LOAD/UNLOAD as appropriate.
• Support and maintain batch cycles, job scheduling (Control-M, CA-7, or equivalent), and operational workflows.
• Monitor system performance, logs, and job statuses to proactively identify risks or bottlenecks.
• Provide off-hours or on-call support for production issues as needed.

4. Business Requirements & Documentation

• Collaborate with business analysts and SMEs to interpret requirements, understand business rules, and translate them into technical solutions.
• Document technical designs, data flows, architecture diagrams, and operational procedures. Document DB2 configurations, database designs, object definitions, operational procedures, recovery procedures, performance recommendations, and technical standards.
• Maintain clear and updated system documentation to ensure long-term sustainability of legacy and new components.

5. Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with QA/test teams to support test planning, unit testing, quality reviews, and performance testing.
• Coordinate with infrastructure teams, DBAs, architects, and integration teams during deployments and release cycles.
• Provide knowledge transfer and technical guidance to junior developers or operations teams as required.
• Participate in agile/scrum ceremonies or waterfall project checkpoints, depending on project methodology.

Required Skills & Qualifications

Technical Skills

• 5–10+ years of experience in mainframe COBOL development, including JCL, TSO/ISPF, DB2, VSAM, and CICS, with senior-level, hands-on IBM Db2 for z/OS database administration experience in large, mission-critical enterprise environments.
• Strong experience with AIX midrange systems, including file structures, AIX utilities, and system navigation, along with demonstrated experience administering DB2 databases, tablespaces, indexes, catalog structures, storage, relational integrity, security, and database availability.
• Hands-on PERL scripting experience for automation, data parsing, file manipulation, and application support, along with strong experience in SQL performance tuning, DB2 EXPLAIN, access-path analysis, indexing, statistics, locking/contention analysis, and database performance optimization.
• Expertise in batch job scheduling (Control-M, CA-7, Autosys, or similar), along with hands-on experience using DB2 utilities, including COPY, RECOVER, REORG, RUNSTATS, CHECK DATA/CHECK INDEX, REBUILD INDEX, and LOAD/UNLOAD.
• Strong debugging, performance tuning, and root-cause analysis skills across mainframe and AIX environments, along with experience administering and troubleshooting DB2 packages and plans, including BIND/REBIND activities and application database connectivity.
• Knowledge of shell scripting (KornShell/Bash) is a strong plus, along with working knowledge of z/OS, JCL, TSO/ISPF, and DB2 operational commands and utilities required to administer Db2 for z/OS environments.
• Experience with version control tools (e.g., Git, Subversion), along with demonstrated ability to diagnose and resolve DB2 performance issues, database failures, locking/contention, storage issues, application connectivity problems, and production incidents.
• Familiarity with enterprise SDLC processes, change management, and release coordination, along with experience supporting high-availability and high-volume transactional DB2 environments, including batch, online, API, web, and real-time transactional applications.

Preferred Skills

• Experience working on modernization projects or migrating legacy systems to distributed/cloud environments.
• Knowledge of API integration patterns, ETL processes, and enterprise data structures.
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines for mainframe environments (e.g., Compuware, IBM DevOps tools).
• Exposure to ITIL processes, production support, and incident/problem management frameworks.

Soft Skills & Competencies

• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to work effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Ability to work independently and manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
• High level of attention to detail and commitment to quality deliverables.
• Strong teamwork, collaboration, and willingness to assist with cross-functional tasks.

Education & Certifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or related discipline (or equivalent professional experience).
• Relevant certifications (IBM Mainframe, AIX, scripting, or DevOps) are a plus.

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