Senior Specialist, z/OS Middleware (CICS & IBM MQ Series)

About CMHC

The work you do and the work we do together matters. We come to work every day with a common purpose: to contribute to a well-functioning housing system.

At CMHC, we hold ourselves accountable for our results and support our colleagues in their achievements. We thrive on collaboration, connecting across CMHC and involving the right people to get our work done. Our leadership style is guided by trust, where our leaders favour an adaptive approach based on the needs of their teams.

Join us and be part of a team that's committed to making a real difference and be part of something meaningful.

What’s in it for you

We’ve got the purpose, the people and the perks you need for a fulfilling career. Here’s the comprehensive and generous benefits you get when you’re a permanent employee:

• Annual Paid vacation.
• Annual individual performance incentive.
• Defined benefit pension plan.
• Comprehensive group insurance plan to support your well-being from day one.
• Support towards your personal and professional growth with training, mentorship and more. 
• An inclusive workplace culture and environment.
• While positions at CMHC require some in-office presence, alternative work arrangements may be considered for Indigenous candidates. 

About the role
Join the Infrastructure and Operations Team, in the Senior z/OS Middleware Specialist (CICS & IBM MQ Series) position. In this role you will be responsible for support, maintenance, and optimization of IBM mainframe middleware platforms, with a strong focus on IBM CICS and IBM MQ. This role acts as a subject‑matter expert (SME), ensuring high availability, performance, and stability of mission‑critical applications in a large, complex enterprise environment.

What you’ll do:

• Provide Level 3 support for IBM CICS and IBM MQ on z/OS, resolving complex production incidents.
• Install, configure, upgrade, and maintain CICS regions, MQ managers, queues, and channels.
• Monitor middleware health, availability, and performance for high‑volume online transaction systems.
• Analyze and tune CICS and MQ performance, addressing throughput, latency, and capacity issues.
• Design and support high‑availability, resilience, and disaster recovery solutions.
• Ensure compliance with security, audit, and regulatory standards, managing access controls and authorities.
• Lead root‑cause analysis, implement permanent fixes, and support change and release activities.
• Act as a middleware SME, collaborating across teams and mentoring junior specialists.

What you should have:

• A bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
• 7+ years of experience supporting IBM z/OS mainframe environments.
• Strong hands‑on expertise with IBM CICS Transaction Server and IBM MQ for z/OS.
• Solid understanding of z/OS architecture, JCL, SDSF, SMF, and batch scheduling.
• Experience with RACF security concepts.
• Familiarity with DB2 connectivity in CICS environments.
• Experience with monitoring and automation tools (e.g., OMEGAMON, MainView, or equivalent).
• Proven experience supporting 24/7 mission‑critical systems in large enterprises.

It would be great if you also had:

• IBM certifications in CICS, MQ, or z/OS are considered an asset.
• Experience with CICS TS upgrades, MQ clustering, and queue sharing groups.
• Exposure to z/OS Connect, APIs, or hybrid integration patterns.
• Knowledge of mainframe modernization or cloud integration initiatives.
• Scripting or automation experience (REXX, OPS/MVS, Ansible, etc.).

Posting closing date: Note, the competition will remain active until filled. 

Standby and Call Back duties are a requirement of this position and will be subject to CMHC policies, including the Standby and Call Back Pay Procedure.

Our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion 

We’re committed to employment equity and encourage women, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, veterans and persons of all races, ethnicities, religions, abilities, sexual orientations, and gender identities and expressions to apply. We also welcome applications from non-Canadians who are eligible to work in Canada.

CMHC is an inclusive workplace where diversity of thought – and of people – are recognized, valued, and considered essential to achieving our mission.

Learn more about our commitment to diversity and inclusion 

What happens after you apply 

We know that applying for a new job can be both exciting and daunting, and we appreciate your effort. Learn more about our hiring process.  If you are selected for an interview or testing, please advise us if you require an accommodation.

If you applied before and you were not successful don’t worry – we're always posting new positions, so don’t hesitate to give it another shot. We’re excited to see what you bring to the table this time around!