Lead Director - Mainframe Systems Engineering

CVS Health is a leading health care company dedicated to improving health experiences. They are seeking a transformational technology leader to oversee the strategy for their IBM zSystems platform, ensuring operational resilience and driving modernization initiatives.

Responsibilities:

• Define and execute the long-term engineering strategy for IBM zSystems, encompassing platform modernization, automation frameworks, and the adoption of AIOps and AI-enabled operations capabilities
• Build, develop, and retain a high-performing organization of platform engineers, systems administrators, and operations specialists, fostering a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement
• Own enterprise platform reliability, operational resilience, and system availability for mission-critical transaction processing, including SLA governance and incident management
• Lead security-by-design principles, compliance engineering, and vulnerability remediation across all mainframe platforms and tooling
• Champion integration initiatives connecting mainframe systems with cloud platforms, APIs, and modern application architectures to support broader enterprise modernization goals
• Manage strategic vendor relationships, including IBM and automation platform providers, and exercise stewardship over technology budgets and investment priorities
• Drive cross-functional collaboration with architecture, security, application, and business teams to ensure the platform supports and accelerates enterprise objectives
• Serve as an executive-level advocate for the mainframe platform, translating complex engineering strategy into business value narratives for senior leadership and board-level audiences when required

Requirements:

• 10+ years of enterprise platform engineering experience, with meaningful exposure to IBM zSystems (z/OS) or comparable mission-critical environments such as HP NonStop or large-scale Unix/Linux systems
• 6+ years of progressive leadership experience managing engineering teams through transformation, including direct reports, contractors, and matrixed organizations in complex enterprise settings
• At least 5+ years of technical literacy across z/OS architecture, mainframe operational concepts, and security frameworks (RACF, ACF2, or TopSecret) to set realistic expectations, evaluate your team's work, and engage credibly with subject matter experts
• A demonstrated track record of delivering large-scale platform modernization, infrastructure automation, or technology transformation programs, on time, within budget, and with measurable business impact
• Executive-level communication and influencing skills, with the ability to navigate competing stakeholder priorities and build alignment across technology and business leadership
• Experience owning significant technology budgets and managing strategic vendor relationships, including contract negotiation and long-term roadmap alignment
• Deep hands-on background with IBM zSystems, including system programming, LPAR management, or mainframe application development
• Experience in healthcare or financial services transaction processing environments where platform reliability carries regulatory and patient safety implications
• Familiarity with AIOps platforms, machine learning applications in infrastructure management, or AI-driven security operations
• Experience establishing enterprise-wide SLAs, engineering performance metrics, and organizational design frameworks for large technical teams
• ITIL Foundation or IBM Certified System Administrator (z/OS) certification