Mainframe Platform Manager
Your Opportunity
Your opportunity
At Schwab, you're empowered to make an impact on your career. Here, innovative thought meets creative problem solving, helping us challenge the status quo and transform the financial services industry together.
Schwab Technology Services enables the future of how clients manage their money by delivering innovative, secure, and reliable technology solutions that support our clients, employees, and business partners.
The Mainframe Team Manager is a people leader responsible for leading a team of Mainframe Engineers and Infrastructure Specialists supporting Schwab's critical enterprise mainframe platforms. This role ensures the availability, resiliency, security, and operational excellence of the firm's IBM zSystems environment and related infrastructure.
This leader drives execution of strategic platform initiatives while fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement, and technical excellence. The position balances operational leadership, talent development, vendor management, risk management, financial stewardship, and technology modernization efforts across the mainframe ecosystem.
The successful candidate will lead teams responsible for platform reliability, hardware lifecycle management, software support, disaster recovery readiness, compliance activities, and production support while building organizational capability through coaching, mentoring, and succession planning. The role partners closely with Architecture, Security, Application Development, Enterprise Operations, Audit, Risk, and external vendors to ensure platform stability and business alignment.
Key Responsibilities
People Leadership
- Lead, coach, mentor, and develop a high-performing team of Mainframe Engineers and Infrastructure Specialists.
- Create an environment of trust, inclusion, and continuous learning.
- Establish clear performance expectations and support employee career growth and development planning.
- Drive talent acquisition, succession planning, workforce planning, and retention strategies.
- Conduct regular coaching conversations, development planning, and performance management activities aligned to Leadership@Schwab principles.
Operational Excellence
- Ensure stable, secure, and highly available operation of enterprise mainframe infrastructure.
- Lead incident, problem, change, and capacity management activities.
- Drive operational readiness for production events, regulatory requirements, and critical business processing periods.
- Establish and maintain operational metrics, service level objectives, and continuous improvement programs.
- Lead recovery exercises and disaster recovery validation efforts.
Technical Leadership
- Provide leadership for IBM zSystems infrastructure, CICS, networking, and supporting platform technologies.
- Support hardware refreshes, capacity planning, operating system upgrades, and infrastructure modernization initiatives.
- Partner with engineering teams to identify automation opportunities and improve operational efficiency.
- Guide technical decision-making and assist teams in resolving complex infrastructure issues.
Risk, Security & Compliance
- Ensure compliance with Schwab security, risk, audit, and regulatory requirements.
- Support internal and external audit activities and remediation efforts.
- Maintain appropriate controls for platform access, security, resiliency, and operational processes.
- Manage technology risks and ensure timely mitigation of identified issues.
Financial & Vendor Management
- Manage budgets, vendor relationships, software renewals, hardware maintenance, and service contracts.
- Participate in business case development and technology investment planning.
- Provide leadership during strategic sourcing, contract negotiations, and service provider engagements.
- Ensure cost-effective delivery of infrastructure services while maintaining required service levels.
Strategic Partnerships
- Collaborate with architecture, engineering, operations, cybersecurity, business teams, and executive leadership.
- Communicate technology strategy, operational risks, and investment needs to stakeholders.
- Translate business objectives into actionable technology roadmaps and execution plans.
What you have
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or equivalent experience.
- 10+ years of experience supporting enterprise mainframe environments.
- 5+ years of experience leading technical teams and/or people leadership responsibilities.
- Deep knowledge of IBM zSystems infrastructure and enterprise operational practices.
- Experience leading incident management, problem management, change management, and disaster recovery processes.
- Experience managing vendor relationships and technology service providers.
- Strong understanding of risk management, compliance, audit, and security requirements.
- Demonstrated ability to lead large-scale technology initiatives and operational improvements.
- Excellent verbal, written, and executive communication skills.
- Proven ability to influence outcomes across multiple organizations and stakeholder groups.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience supporting large-scale financial services environments.
- Experience with IBM z17, z16, z/OS, storage, networking, and infrastructure modernization initiatives.
- Experience with mainframe automation, observability, capacity management, and resiliency engineering.
- ITIL, PMP, Agile, or relevant industry certifications.
- Experience leading distributed, remote, or hybrid technical teams.
- Experience managing outsourced or managed service provider relationships.
What’s in it for you
At Schwab, you’re empowered to shape your future. We champion your growth through meaningful work, continuous learning, and a culture of trust and collaboration—so you can build the skills to make a lasting impact. Our Hybrid Work and Flexibility approach balances our ongoing commitment to workplace flexibility, serving our clients, and our strong belief in the value of being together in person on a regular basis.
We offer a competitive benefits package that takes care of the whole you – both today and in the future:
- 401(k) with company match and Employee stock purchase plan
- Paid time for vacation, volunteering, and 28-day sabbatical after every 5 years of service for eligible positions
- Paid parental leave and family building benefits
- Tuition reimbursement
- Health, dental, and vision insurance
What you are good at
What you have
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or equivalent experience.
- 10+ years of experience supporting enterprise mainframe environments.
- 5+ years of experience leading technical teams and/or people leadership responsibilities.
- Deep knowledge of IBM zSystems infrastructure and enterprise operational practices.
- Experience leading incident management, problem management, change management, and disaster recovery processes.
- Experience managing vendor relationships and technology service providers.
- Strong understanding of risk management, compliance, audit, and security requirements.
- Demonstrated ability to lead large-scale technology initiatives and operational improvements.
- Excellent verbal, written, and executive communication skills.
- Proven ability to influence outcomes across multiple organizations and stakeholder groups.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience supporting large-scale financial services environments.
- Experience with IBM z17, z16, z/OS, storage, networking, and infrastructure modernization initiatives.
- Experience with mainframe automation, observability, capacity management, and resiliency engineering.
- ITIL, PMP, Agile, or relevant industry certifications.
- Experience leading distributed, remote, or hybrid technical teams.
- Experience managing outsourced or managed service provider relationships.
Why Schwab?
At Schwab, “Own Your Tomorrow” embodies everything we do! We are committed to helping our employees unleash their potential and achieve their dreams. Our employees get to play a central role in disrupting a multi-trillion-dollar industry, creating a better, more modern way to build and manage wealth. We’re a modern financial services firm that stands apart from the industry, where you can go as far as your ambition takes you.
Hear from employees: What’s it like to work at Schwab!
The benefits of working at Schwab : a package designed to empower your health, wealth, career and life. Schwab is committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued.
As an equal employment opportunity employer, our policy is to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to any status that is protected by law. (Please click here to see policy.)
Schwab is also an affirmative action employer, focused on advancing women, minorities, veterans, and individuals with disabilities in the workplace. We believe diversity and inclusion are part of our success as a company and our purpose of serving every client with passion and integrity.