Systems Programmer: Critical and scarce talent for developing modern mainframes

In the age of digitalization, artificial intelligence, and agile development, few roles embody the technological paradox as well as that of the systems programmer. 

Although the critical infrastructure and processes of many industries still run on mainframes, The talent capable of sustaining and evolving these platforms is diminishing every year..

This is a structural alert that affects sectors such as banking, insurance, telecommunications, healthcare, retail, and government, among others.

The risk is not only technical, but also strategic. 

In this article, we analyze a critical role with diminishing availability, fundamental to the technological management of organizations with high transaction volumes: systems programmers.

Systems Programmer: Role Characteristics

Behind every successful batch, every incident-free processing, and every million transactions per second, there is a key profile that is in danger of extinction: the systems programmer.

Without systems programmers, there is no continuity, resilience or transformation possible.Hence the challenge posed by the limited availability of professionals with the necessary skills.

The role of systems programmer is associated with the engineering of the mainframe's logical and operational infrastructure. It specializes in the installation, configuration, maintenance, and optimization of a mainframe's operating system, as well as middleware and other essential components. 

Unlike application development, its focus is not on writing code, but on ensure that the infrastructure is stable, secure, and efficient.

It could be considered a profile linked to the architecture and protection of the integrity of the operational ecosystem, which supports millions of daily transactions.

In fact, the role of systems programmer does not think about features, focuses on the system as a whole. For example:

• What service might stop responding if I don't coordinate batch timing with online processes?
• What does it mean to upload a new version of z/OS to the existing middleware stack?

Their job is to keep the z/OS operating system (or others like z/VM or z/Linux) functional, optimized, and secure. 

But Its true value lies in the fact that it operates on the threshold between the technical and the strategic.: Learn how everything connects and what impact even the smallest changes have.

This is a profile that offers a variety of capabilities. These include:

• Read and analyze low-level error dumps.
• Apply PTFs (Program Temporary Fixes) or APARs (Authorized Program Analysis Reports).
• Manage access policies with RACF for thousands of users.
• Integrate new automation or resource management solutions (such as Zowe, Ansible, or IBM OMEGAMON).
• Perform performance tuning to avoid MIPS overconsumption or I/O.

What are the responsibilities and functions of a Systems Programmer?

As we have been pointing out, far from the traditional application developer, the systems programmer operates at the deepest level of the technological stack: the operating system. 

Their mission is to make everything work. They install, maintain, configure, secure, and optimize the z/OS operating system and its components.

The main responsibilities of the role include:

• Install and upgrade operating systems (z/OS, Linux on Z, etc.) and related products.
• Manage and configure subsystems (CICS, IMS, DB2, etc.).
• Establish safety and performance standards and policies.
• Detect and resolve low-level problems (dump analysis, deep troubleshooting).
• Automate operational and monitoring processes.
• Coordinate with technology providers and product support.

Although his role is closer to the area of infrastructure, technical architecture, reliability engineering (SRE) and security, The systems programmer profile is essential for the success of development teams.Without their work, nothing runs securely and efficiently on a mainframe.

His expertise allows him to cover the following functions:

• Ensure applications run in stable environments.
• Provide well-configured testing, integration, and production environments.
• Implement automations (for example, via JCLs or tools like Ansible or REXX) that directly impact the efficiency of the development cycle.
• Detect performance, security, or resource consumption bottlenecks (such as MIPS).
• Participate in audits and regulatory compliance (SOX, PCI-DSS, etc.).

It is a strategic support figure, invisible to the end user but key to operational continuity.

In contexts of modernization, It is key to articulating hybrid architecturesYour knowledge of the system is essential to avoid uncoupled decisions that compromise stability.

Skills and knowledge required to be a Systems Programmer

A systems programmer combines what in other environments would be a mix of roles: SRE, DevOps, and security and infrastructure architecture specialist. But with a much greater level of expertise and responsibility.

In addition to deep technical expertise, the Systems Programmer role requires a rare skill set.

Technical skills include:

• Proficient in z/OS, JES2, TSO/ISPF, SDSF, JCL, REXX, RACF.
• Knowledge of subsystems (CICS, MQ, DB2).
• Handling installation and maintenance tools (SMP/E).
• Experience in failure analysis (abend, dumps, traces).
• Familiarity with modern practices (DevOps, automation, scripting, Ansible).

While life skills include:

• Systemic, preventive and resilient thinking.
• Analytical skills and attention to detail to resolve complex incidents.
• Ability to anticipate operational risks and work under pressure during mission-critical incidents.
• Communication with multiple areas (development, architecture, cybersecurity, business).
• Precise documentation and methodological approach.
• Skills to collaborate with security, development, and architecture areas.
• Willingness to transfer knowledge and training to new generations.

Challenges in attracting and retaining talent

One of the main problems that organizations face today is that The profile of a systems programmer is aging. 

Many skilled workers are close to retiring from the labor market, and the proportion of younger generations choosing this career is low, due to a lack of visibility and formal training, among other reasons.

This generates a critical generation gap in positions for which it is difficult to find a natural replacement for multiple reasons:

• Low visibility of the role: It is not taught in universities, nor is it promoted as an attractive career.
• Outdated image: It is associated with “old” technologies, when in reality the mainframe has been modernized and offers enormous technical challenges.
• Long learning curve: The knowledge is deep, systemic, and requires years of supervised practice.
• Few communities or events: There is no extensive learning and networking ecosystem, as there is in other areas of technology management.
• Lack of mainframe branding: : its critical importance in the business is not communicated.

As explained Cecilia Armando, COO of Codeki, there are few people with the profile and business knowledge that companies need. 

At the same time, there are few training programs available on the market to develop the number of professionals currently demanded by the IT industry in general and by each of the organizations with mainframe infrastructures in particular.

We are facing a possible discontinuity of operational knowledge, something unprecedented and dangerous in industries where errors cost millions or affect public services.

Faced with this scenario, it is urgent that organizations:

• Promote internal training programs (academies, technical bootcamps).
• Establish mentoring plans where senior experts accompany junior profiles.
• Work on your employer brand to show the real impact and modernization of the mainframe ecosystem (automation, DevOps, cloud integration, microservices).
• Develop links with universities to bring real-life cases, practices, and courses that include training in high-performance systems.

How to train and attract new generations of Systems Programmers?

In addition to the actions promoted by companies, to bridging the IT talent gap, it is important to develop articulated strategies from multiple fronts.

1. Rebranding the mainframe

We need to stop talking about the mainframe as a “legacy” and start presenting it as what it is: a core, critical, modern and constantly evolving technology.

2. Structured initial training

It is critical to promote the development of internal or external technical academies with strong support from more experienced profiles. 

Similarly, design bootcamps that combine theory, practice, and real-life incident resolution.

3. Cross-mentoring

It is recommended to pair newcomers with experts who are close to retiring, in order to transfer tacit knowledge. 

In addition to documenting experiences, best practices, and lessons learned in collaborative repositories.

4. Early entry into universities

Another aspect to consider is the creation of elective courses, technical hackathons, or internship programs, where students interact with z/OS environments and see their real-world applicability.

5. Inspiring narratives

To connect with the value of the role, it's often stimulating to show real-life use cases, resolved incidents, impact metrics, and the magnitude of the work.

IT Patagonia's value contribution in training systems programmers: the HSBC case

Based on the difficulties that hiring systems programmers represents due to the limited availability that we have been mentioning and the absence of academic proposals to train them, at IT Patagonia we cover this gap through specialized training for people interested in filling this role.

With the aim of developing specialized professionals, we generate training for those who do not have knowledge in mainframe, zOS, CICS and DB2, but who are interested in filling vacancies in an unsatisfied labor market.

Through our strategic partner, Codeki, We map the technological needs of our clients to solve their business. 

Just as we did with HSBC Bank, among other organizations we support in developing talent and providing systems programmers who can solve their critical needs.

Martin Gorgazzi, a z/OS System Programmer at HSBC bank until December 2024, explains that the problem they faced was how to train a group of university students, who had probably never seen a mainframe in their entire academic career, so that they could develop as systems programmers. 

In response to this need, IT Patagonía and Codeki mapped the skills the financial institution needed to develop. Based on this analysis, we created specific training, supported by our mainframe specialists.

How do we do it? As an account Belen Soba Red, Academic Director of Codeki, we strongly believe in the importance of developing customized training tailored to the needs and interests of each company, and we specialize in doing so. 

The solution provided to HSBC was consolidated through a training and mentoring process, with conceptual training and real-life case studies.

Roberto De Hoz, Mainframe Support Manager at HSBC, points out that the goal was not to create a textbook course lasting three years, but rather to cover all aspects in a general way, so that each student's interests and interests would flow through at the end of the course. From there, the group was introduced to specific mainframe tools.

Conclusion: a key profile that needs visibility

The role of systems programmer is a strategic figure that supports the pillars of critical infrastructure. Without their expertise, the mainframe, no matter how robust, becomes a black box with high operational risk.

The modernization of core platforms must go hand in hand with the updating of talent. 

Ignoring this problem is not an option. Organizations that do not invest in mainframe talent today will face an operational bottleneck in a few years, where there will be no expertise available to maintain or evolve critical systems.

The cost will not only be technical: it will directly impact operational continuity, customer experience, cybersecurity, and innovation capacity.

Therefore, investing in new generations who embrace this role with an updated perspective is key to ensuring the technological continuity of many organizations over the next 10 years.

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