Senior Mainframe Engineer (Systems Programmer)

Acuity • Sheboygan, WI

5d

About The Position

Acuity is seeking a Senior Mainframe Engineer to lead the design, implementation, and optimization of IT systems, ensuring high performance, scalability, availability, and security across the infrastructure. The Senior Engineer provides technical leadership in system architecture, lifecycle management, and incident response, while driving automation and process improvements to enhance reliability and efficiency. This role partners closely with engineers, security teams, and cross-functional stakeholders to deliver solutions aligned with business objectives and regulatory standards. In addition this position mentors junior engineers, promotes knowledge sharing, and fosters a culture of continuous improvement within the engineering team. ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: General System Work Leads the implementation and optimization of enterprise-level systems that meet performance, security, scalability, and availability requirements. Works with cross-functional teams to design and integrate systems (servers, storage, networking, virtualization) into cohesive infrastructures. Provides expertise on best practices for system architecture, ensuring solutions align with business goals and technical standards. Manages lifecycle planning and maintenance for hardware and software, including refreshes and major system upgrades, to ensure systems remain reliable, up to date, and minimally disrupted. Drives large-scale infrastructure projects, including new deployments, migrations, and upgrades. System Monitoring and Optimization Proactively monitors performance of critical systems to ensure adherence to SLAs and business objectives. Identifies bottlenecks, resource constraints, and inefficiencies, applying corrective actions to optimize performance and availability. Implements advanced system tuning techniques and fine-tunes configurations for maximum efficiency. Designs automated monitoring, alerting, and reporting solutions to improve reliability. Problem Resolution Leads the diagnosis and resolution of complex system issues involving hardware, software, networking, or outages. Coordinates incident response efforts and drives post-incident reviews to identify root causes and prevent recurrence. Develops and maintains incident management processes for timely, effective resolution of system failures. Security Mindset Takes ownership of system security and compliance, ensuring enterprise systems meet regulatory standards and internal security policies. Designs and implements advanced security measures including firewalls, and multi-factor authentication. Leads efforts in risk assessment, vulnerability management, and remediation across systems. Partners with security teams to ensure ongoing protection against emerging threats. Understands certificate and encryption cipher concepts to implement secure connections between systems. Documentation Practices Develops and maintains comprehensive documentation of system configurations, architecture, and troubleshooting procedures. Develops and maintains comprehensive architectural documentation, including system diagrams, data flows, and CMDB records. Establishes documentation standards for junior engineers to follow and ensures knowledge is shared across teams. Disaster Recovery/Backups Leads disaster recovery planning and execution, ensuring business continuity for critical systems. Manages enterprise backup and recovery processes, validating that data is protected and recoverable. Collaboration/Communication Works with other engineers, vendors, business analysts and stakeholders to ensure smooth system implementation and integration. Actively participates in architectural discussions, providing system infrastructure expertise. Provides technical leadership during application deployments, ensuring seamless system integration. Promotes cross-team collaboration and fosters a growth-oriented culture. Training and Career Growth Mentors Systems Engineer I and II team members, providing hands-on guidance and technical coaching. Reviews work, designs, and automation code from junior engineers, offering constructive feedback. Leads knowledge-sharing workshops and promotes continuous professional development within the team. Pursues certifications and professional training to stay current with emerging technologies and industry standards. Miscellaneous Demonstrates regular and predictable attendance. Complete mandatory company training. Perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent of education and experience in computer science or related field.
• A systems engineer with 5-8 years of experience in system administration, engineering, or infrastructure support will generally demonstrate these skill sets.
• Expertise with a range of tools and technologies, including: Operating Systems: Windows Server and Linux.
• Virtualization & Remote Access: VMware, RDP, SSH.
• Containers: Docker, Podman, Kubernetes, Openshift.
• Scripting: PowerShell, Python, Bash, Ansible.
• Monitoring Tools: SolarWinds, Prometheus.
• Version Control: Git and automated deployment pipelines.
• Job Schedulers: Cron, Zena.
• Security: Encryption, firewalls, ACLs, MFA, vulnerability management and compliance frameworks.
• Networking: TCP/IP, DNS, VLANs, routing, load balancing.
• Backup & Recovery: Enterprise backup and disaster recovery solutions.
• Excellent analytical and strategic thinker with the ability to break down highly complex problems and identify practical solutions.
• Demonstrated leadership in managing system initiatives, mentoring junior engineers, and coordinating cross-functional teams.
• Excellent communicator, capable of collaborating across multiple teams and influencing architectural decisions.
• Committed to continuous learning, professional development, and adopting emerging technologies.
• Able to manage priorities under pressure and lead incident response efforts when required.
• Excellence in creating and updating documentation, test plans, and disaster recovery procedures.
• Stays current on changes in the insurance and information technology domains.
• Passion for delivering high-quality and reliable results.
• Skilled mentor and coach, experienced in guiding junior team members and fostering team growth.
• Proactive mindset with a focus on process optimization.
• Available to work outside standard hours as needed for changes or upgrades.
• On-call availability for critical system incidents as needed.
• May need to live within a 2-hour radius of Acuity’s HQ (depending on job duties).
• Acuity does not sponsor applicants for U.S. work authorization.
• This job is classified as exempt.

Responsibilities

• Leads the implementation and optimization of enterprise-level systems that meet performance, security, scalability, and availability requirements.
• Works with cross-functional teams to design and integrate systems (servers, storage, networking, virtualization) into cohesive infrastructures.
• Provides expertise on best practices for system architecture, ensuring solutions align with business goals and technical standards.
• Manages lifecycle planning and maintenance for hardware and software, including refreshes and major system upgrades, to ensure systems remain reliable, up to date, and minimally disrupted.
• Drives large-scale infrastructure projects, including new deployments, migrations, and upgrades.
• Proactively monitors performance of critical systems to ensure adherence to SLAs and business objectives.
• Identifies bottlenecks, resource constraints, and inefficiencies, applying corrective actions to optimize performance and availability.
• Implements advanced system tuning techniques and fine-tunes configurations for maximum efficiency.
• Designs automated monitoring, alerting, and reporting solutions to improve reliability.
• Leads the diagnosis and resolution of complex system issues involving hardware, software, networking, or outages.
• Coordinates incident response efforts and drives post-incident reviews to identify root causes and prevent recurrence.
• Develops and maintains incident management processes for timely, effective resolution of system failures.
• Takes ownership of system security and compliance, ensuring enterprise systems meet regulatory standards and internal security policies.
• Designs and implements advanced security measures including firewalls, and multi-factor authentication.
• Leads efforts in risk assessment, vulnerability management, and remediation across systems.
• Partners with security teams to ensure ongoing protection against emerging threats.
• Understands certificate and encryption cipher concepts to implement secure connections between systems.
• Develops and maintains comprehensive documentation of system configurations, architecture, and troubleshooting procedures.
• Develops and maintains comprehensive architectural documentation, including system diagrams, data flows, and CMDB records.
• Establishes documentation standards for junior engineers to follow and ensures knowledge is shared across teams.
• Leads disaster recovery planning and execution, ensuring business continuity for critical systems.
• Manages enterprise backup and recovery processes, validating that data is protected and recoverable.
• Works with other engineers, vendors, business analysts and stakeholders to ensure smooth system implementation and integration.
• Actively participates in architectural discussions, providing system infrastructure expertise.
• Provides technical leadership during application deployments, ensuring seamless system integration.
• Promotes cross-team collaboration and fosters a growth-oriented culture.
• Mentors Systems Engineer I and II team members, providing hands-on guidance and technical coaching.
• Reviews work, designs, and automation code from junior engineers, offering constructive feedback.
• Leads knowledge-sharing workshops and promotes continuous professional development within the team.
• Pursues certifications and professional training to stay current with emerging technologies and industry standards.
• Demonstrates regular and predictable attendance.
• Complete mandatory company training.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Acuity offers a comprehensive benefits package, including a generous 401(k) contribution, medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance, paid time off, an Employee Assistance Program, and more.
• A full description of benefits and eligibility will be provided to candidates during the hiring process.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level