Principal Engineer – Mainframe

About the role

Emirates Group is seeking a Principal Engineer – Mainframe to lead the design, implementation and support of enterprise‑scale mainframe infrastructure across its global airline operations. The role sits within the Digital Platforms and Employee Experience team and is responsible for ensuring robust, high‑quality solutions that align with corporate IT strategy.

Key responsibilities

• Develop and deliver IT solutions that meet customer requirements while adhering to corporate standards.
• Own, manage and maintain solution designs for large, complex projects and platforms.
• Provide expert technical consultancy and act as the lead technical authority for mainframe infrastructure.
• Contribute to architecture guiding principles and lead the evolution of corporate IT standards.
• Track technology innovations and update architecture assets to reflect changes.
• Ensure solutions meet service‑level targets for availability, capacity, security and performance.
• Publish and maintain comprehensive documentation, including design, configuration and operational manuals.
• Manage end‑of‑life replacement of equipment and software, ensuring compliance with standards.
• Lead solution and technical design reviews and advise projects on architectural compliance.
• Coach and inspire a virtual team of at least 20 technical and operational resources.

Required profile

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, IT, Engineering or related field; IBM Mainframe certifications are a plus.
• 10+ years of hands‑on experience designing, engineering and supporting enterprise‑scale IBM Mainframe environments.
• Proven senior technical leadership, architecture and roadmap definition for mainframe platforms.
• Demonstrated ability to influence senior stakeholders and mentor engineering teams.

Required skills

• IBM Z Systems and z/OS technologies (JES2/JES3, WLM, SMP/E, RACF, DFSMS/SMS, HCD, Parallel Sysplex, VSAM, IBM MQ, WebSphere).
• Mainframe storage and I/O engineering (IBM DS8000, DASD, Virtual Tape Systems, FlashCopy, Safeguarded Copy, storage replication).
• Mainframe networking and integration (TCP/IP, z/OS Communications Server, SDN concepts, Hybrid Cloud integration).
• Infrastructure as Code, AIOps, REXX scripting, IBM System Automation.
• High‑availability and disaster‑recovery solutions (Parallel Sysplex, GDPS, Cyber Vaulting, immutable backups).
• Mainframe security and compliance (RACF, privileged access management, encryption, security monitoring, audit remediation).

What we offer

• Tax‑free salary in a management role.
• Generous travel benefits including discounted flights and hotel stays worldwide.