How will you make an impact in this role?
This role is responsible for driving the reliability, resiliency, performance, and modernization of critical American Express platforms across both Mainframe and Distributed environments. You will leverage deep technical expertise in software engineering, runtime engineering, production support, and platform operations to quickly assess and remediate complex availability, performance, and operational issues.
As part of our technology team, you will partner with engineering, product, infrastructure, and operations teams to design, build, automate, and support highly available enterprise platforms. You will help accelerate modernization initiatives, improve operational excellence, and deliver secure, scalable, and resilient solutions that power critical customer and business capabilities.
ResponsibilitiesSoftware Engineering & Platform Development
- Serve as a hands-on engineer with expertise in supporting complex enterprise applications, platforms, and operational tooling across Mainframe and Distributed environments.
- This role requires and must have 5+ years of mainframe experience and knowledge, understanding and experience of distributed application is a plus.
- Design, develop, prototype, code, test, and implement scalable software solutions using technologies such as Java, Python, COBOL, REXX, JCL, SQL, and related frameworks.
- Act as a technical contributor in change management reviews, root cause analysis, and troubleshooting of complex technical issues.
- Design and implement automation solutions, and engineering practices that improve platform resiliency, operational efficiency, and security.
- Use best practices in incident management, problem management and change management as this role focuses on application production support.
Runtime Engineering, Reliability & Operations
- Drive the technical roadmap for runtime systems, ensuring platform reliability, scalability, availability, recoverability, and performance.
- Establish, monitor, and continuously improve key performance indicators (KPIs), service level objectives (SLOs), and operational metrics (MTTR, MTBF) for platform health and resiliency.
- Lead diagnosis and resolution of production incidents, batch failures, application outages, performance bottlenecks, and infrastructure issues across Mainframe and Distributed platforms.
- Apply Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) principles and operational excellence practices to improve system stability and reduce operational risk.
- Support disaster recovery, high availability, workload management, capacity planning, and business continuity initiatives.
Mainframe & Distributed Platform Engineering
- Must have Experience in Support and optimize enterprise platforms across IBM Mainframe technologies including z/OS, JES2/JES3, TSO/ISPF, SDSF, JCL, DB2 for z/OS, IMS, VSAM, MQ, CICS, RACF, and related ecosystem tools.
- Desirable Support and optimize Distributed Platform technologies including cloud infrastructure, Linux/Unix, containers, APIs, Java-based services, distributed databases, and modern application platforms.
- Implement and support hybrid Mainframe and Cloud/Distributed architectures, modernization initiatives, API enablement, and enterprise integration capabilities.
- Knowledge of cloud platforms AWS, GCP or general Cloud fundamentals.
Data, Integration & Automation
- Develop and support enterprise integration solutions utilizing APIs, MQ, Connect:Direct, event-driven architectures, and batch and real-time data integration patterns.
- Utilize relational and NoSQL databases including DB2, PostgreSQL, Redis, Couchbase, IMS DB, and VSAM to support critical business applications.
- Automate operational processes, deployments, monitoring, reporting, and remediation activities using REXX, Python, Bash, Ansible, Jenkins, and related technologies.
- Empower engineering teams to adopt scalable automation and self-service capabilities for deployment, monitoring, and operational support.
Observability & Continuous Improvement
- Implement and utilize monitoring, observability, logging, and analytics solutions using tools such as Splunk, OMEGAMON, RMF/SMF, Sysview, MainView, Dynatrace, AppDynamics, ELK, or equivalent technologies.
- Analyze operational trends, identify opportunities for optimization, and formulate strategic recommendations to improve platform health and engineering effectiveness.
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on reliability, performance, security, operational maturity, and customer experience.
DevOps, Security & Governance
- Understand CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices using tools such as Git, Jenkins, Maven, DBB, Endevor, Changeman, ISPW, UrbanCode Deploy, or equivalent platforms.
- Apply enterprise security controls, compliance requirements, audit standards, and access management practices, including RACF, ACF2, Top Secret, and cloud security principles.
- Ensure solutions meet non-functional requirements (NFRs) including availability, scalability, performance, security, recoverability, and maintainability.
Leadership & Collaboration
- Collaborate with product managers, architects, engineering teams, infrastructure teams, and business stakeholders to define technical solutions and execution strategies.
- Provide technical leadership, mentoring, and guidance to engineers while fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, accountability, and operational excellence.
- Translate complex technical concepts, risks, and recommendations into business-relevant outcomes for leadership and partner teams.
- Work effectively across cross-functional and geographically distributed teams to deliver enterprise technology solutions
At American Express, our culture is built on a 175-year history of innovation, shared values and Leadership Behaviors, and an unwavering commitment to back our customers, communities, and colleagues. From delivering differentiated products to providing world-class customer service, we operate with a strong risk mindset, ensuring we continue to uphold our brand promise of trust, security, and service.
As part of Team Amex, you’ll experience our powerful backing with comprehensive support for your holistic well-being and many opportunities to learn new skills, develop as a leader, and grow your career. Here, your voice and ideas matter, your work makes an impact, and together, you will help us define the future of American Express.
About the TeamWe back you with benefits that support your holistic well-being so you can be and deliver your best. This means caring for you and your loved ones' physical, financial, and mental health, as well as providing the flexibility you need to thrive personally and professionally:
- Competitive base salaries
- Bonus incentives
- Support for financial-well-being and retirement
- Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and disability benefits (depending on location)
- Flexible working model with hybrid, onsite or virtual arrangements depending on role and business need
- Generous paid parental leave policies (depending on your location)
- Free access to global on-site wellness centers staffed with nurses and doctors (depending on location)
- Free and confidential counseling support through our Healthy Minds program
- Career development and training opportunities
American Express is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, disability status, age, or any other status protected by law.
Offer of employment with American Express is conditioned upon the successful completion of a background verification check, subject to applicable laws and regulations.
Skills Required
- 5+ years of Mainframe experience
- Experience supporting IBM Mainframe technologies: z/OS, JES2/JES3, TSO/ISPF, SDSF, JCL
- Experience with Mainframe data and middleware: DB2 for z/OS, IMS, VSAM, MQ, CICS
- Familiarity with Mainframe security tools: RACF (ACF2, Top Secret also referenced)
- Proficiency in programming and scripting: Java, Python, COBOL, REXX, SQL
- Automation and operational tooling experience: REXX, Python, Bash, Ansible, Jenkins
- Experience with integrations and data movement: APIs, MQ, Connect:Direct, event-driven and batch patterns
- Experience with relational and NoSQL databases: DB2, PostgreSQL, Redis, Couchbase, IMS DB, VSAM
- Observability and monitoring tool experience: Splunk, OMEGAMON, RMF/SMF, Sysview, MainView, Dynatrace, AppDynamics, ELK
- CI/CD and DevOps tool familiarity: Git, Jenkins, Maven, DBB, Endevor, Changeman, ISPW, UrbanCode Deploy
- Knowledge of cloud platforms and fundamentals (AWS, GCP) and hybrid mainframe-cloud architectures
- Experience applying SRE principles, incident/problem/change management, and operational excellence
- Leadership experience: mentoring engineers, cross-functional collaboration, translating technical risk to business outcomes
- Experience with distributed application platforms (Linux/Unix, containers, Java services) - plus
- Desirable: support and optimize distributed platform technologies and modern application platforms
American Express Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about American Express and has not been reviewed or approved by American Express.
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Healthcare Strength — Pay is often viewed as attractive when combined with comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage that supports day-to-day needs. The benefits package is also framed as especially helpful for those supporting dependents.
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Retirement Support — Retirement benefits are positioned as a meaningful part of total rewards through a 401(k) plan with company matching. Financial wellness services and coaching are also highlighted as strengthening longer-term financial security.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Paid time off is repeatedly characterized as generous and a valued component of the overall package. Time off and flexibility are presented as helping the total rewards feel more complete beyond base salary.
American Express Insights
What We Do
At American Express, we know that with the right backing, people and businesses have the power to progress in incredible ways. Whether we’re supporting our customers’ financial confidence to move ahead, taking commerce to new heights, or encouraging people to explore the world, our colleagues are constantly striving to uphold our powerful backing promise to our customers and each other every day. These beliefs have been our North Star for 170 years as our business transformed – from helping evacuate travelers during World Wars, to ensuring the safety of our customers’ funds during the Great Depression in the U.S., to creating the Shop Small® movement to help small businesses recover from the Financial Crisis, to providing aid to communities impacted by many natural disasters and so much more. For generations, the key to our success has been the determination and resilience of our American Express colleagues. Now, as a globally integrated payments company, we work together to provide customers with access to products, insights and world-class experiences that enrich lives and build business success. Join us and let’s lead the way together.
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