IBM Mainframe Enterprise Solution Architect

At IBM Global Sales, we bring together innovation, collaboration, and expertise to help clients solve their most complex business challenges. Working across industries and geographies, you'll partner with colleagues, clients, and partners to co-create solutions that drive digital transformation and lasting impact.Success in Global Sales is built on curiosity, empathy, and collaboration. You'll connect technical understanding with strong people skills, building trusted relationships and shaping solutions that improve business and society. With world-class onboarding, continuous learning, and a supportive culture, IBM offers the tools and opportunities to grow your career. Join us and be part of a global team that's passionate about driving innovation and making a difference.

Your role and responsibilities

The Executive Architect provides strategic and technical leadership for customers' mainframe infrastructure environment. This role is accountable for leading enterprise-wide assessments, defining optimisation roadmaps, and driving execution of transformation strategies that improve performance, resilience, and long-term business value. The Executive Architect works closely with both business and technical leadership to align infrastructure strategy with organisational priorities and measurable outcomes.
1. Strategic Assessment & Optimisation

• Lead comprehensive assessments of customers' z infrastructure landscape.
• Develop optimization plans aligned to business strategy and operational objectives.
• Drive execution of transformation initiatives to modernise and strengthen the environment.
• Map current and target-state ecosystems, identifying dependencies, risks, and improvement opportunities.

2. Business & Technical Leadership Alignment

• Partner with business and IT leadership to define and prioritize transformation success criteria.
• Provide strategic guidance to ensure infrastructure initiatives support broader organizational goals.
• Facilitate executive-level discussions on architecture direction, investment priorities, and risk posture.

3. Risk Management & Governance

• Develop and maintain a risk scorecard covering infrastructure, operational, and transformation risks.
• Identify gaps and recommend remediation strategies.
• Establish governance mechanisms to monitor progress and manage risk exposure.

4. Organisational Change & Capability Development

• Lead the identification and implementation of an effective Organisational Change Management (OCM) strategy and structure.
• Conduct skills gap analysis across client IT teams.
• Define and support targeted training and up-skilling programmes to build sustainable capability.
• Drive performance improvement initiatives across teams and functions.

5. Operational Excellence & Process Improvement

• Lead execution of proven strategies to optimize tooling, automation, and operational efficiency.
• Identify opportunities for automation to improve reliability and reduce manual effort.
• Champion continuous improvement of infrastructure processes and service delivery models.

6. SME Coordination & Specialist Engagement

• Identify and coordinate the involvement of highly skilled IBM subject matter experts (SMEs).
• Ensure specialist expertise is applied effectively to address complex technical and transformation challenges.
• Integrate SME guidance into sustainable, scalable solutions.

Required education

Bachelor's Degree

Preferred education

Master's Degree

Required technical and professional expertise

The Candidate requires the following Professional and Technical Expertise:

IBM's Infrastructure technologies (IBM System z)
• Track record of sizing and defining services focused solutions including functional and implementation requirements for phases such as design, development, integration, production support and operations.
• Client Stakeholder Credibility Building: Experience in building credibility and service orientation with client stakeholders.
• Excellent communication and leadership skills to navigate complex client engagements

Technology Expertise: Deep expertise in at least one of the following technology areas:

• IBM System z, z/OS, Machine Learning / AI on z, Data and Analytics on z, Geographically Dispersed Parallel Sysplex (GDPS) resiliency solutions and automation

Client facing Experience: Experience working with clients in defining technology solutions
• Ability to manage multiple engagements in a fast-paced, innovative environment.
• Experience with any of the IBM Software portfolio considered a plus - IBM Data & AI products
• Experience in IBM Z Modernization strategies and tools.
• Knowledge of Transaction processing systems and enterprise infrastructure design.

Must possess Canada Secret Level 2 Clearance

Preferred technical and professional experience

• Extensive experience with:
Z Skills:

• z/OS High Availability technology and capabilities including Parallel Sysplex (eg: GRS, Coupling Facilities and Sysplex Failure Management).
• Copy Services technology including Metro Mirror, Global Mirror, and z/OS Global Mirror (plus FlashCopy Software replication).
• z/VM system programming or Linux on z Systems administration.
• Successfully delivering IBM Z projects and/or architecting and planning infrastructures for customer's data centers.
• Customer or executive facing communications, requirements analysis, documentation, and report presentations.

Experience with:
• IBM DS8K, Safeguarded Copy, LCP and storage managed using DFSMS. • Networking skills especially TCP/IP knowledge.
• Tivoli System Automation and/or NetView.
• RACF, JCL, REXX and CLIST.
• Ability to lead customer technical workshops up to 20+ people.