Rich Smrcina

Current

• VM Technical Steering Committee at SHARE
• Sr. Systems Engineer at VM Assist, Inc
• Conference Planning Commitee Member at WAVV

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Past

• Sr. Systems Engineer at illustro Systems International, LLC
• Sr. Systems Engineer at DSG
• Sr Systems Engineer at Sytek Services, Inc

• Sr. Systems Programmer at Grede Foundries, Inc.
• Sr. Systems Programmer at Compuware Corporation
• Sr. Systems Programmer at Computer People Unlimited
• Systems Programmer at Aldrich Chemical Company

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4 more...

Education

• Milwaukee Area Technical College
• Marquette University High School

Recommended

1 person has recommended Rich

Connections

159 connections

Industry

Information Technology and Services

Websites

• My Company

Rich Smrcina’s Summary

25 years experience in the IT industry with an emphasis on System z infrastructure and support

Implementation of mainframe systems and the infrastructure used to deploy the system efficiently.
Hardware: IBM System z and predecessor systems (zSeries, S/390)
Software: z/VM, VSE/ESA, z/VSE, Linux on System z. Additionally IBM and ISV software running on those operating systems. Open Source software on Linux.

Installation, upgrades of all above mentioned operating systems and associated software and many IBM and third party products that run on those systems.

Rich Smrcina’s Specialties:

z/VM, z/VSE and Linux on System z installation and maintenance and also IBM and ISV software running on those systems. Available for contracts in any location.

Rich Smrcina’s Experience

• VM Technical Steering Committee

  SHARE

  (Non-Profit; 51-200 employees; Events Services industry)

  August 2007 — Present (1 year 1 month)

• Sr. Systems Engineer

  VM Assist, Inc

  (Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Information Technology and Services industry)

  January 2005 — Present (3 years 8 months)

  We provide systems support services for mainframe based systems with the emphasis on z/VM, VSE and Linux on System z. Analysis, design and implementation of a Linux on System z infrastructure with special attention paid to the special hardware and software features that make this an exciting platform to work with.
  We also provide video surveillance consulting and implementation. If your organization has the need for video surveillance or want to upgrade an existing setup, let me know.

• Conference Planning Commitee Member

  WAVV

  (Non-Profit; 11-50 employees; Events Services industry)

  1997 — Present (11 years)

• Sr. Systems Engineer

  illustro Systems International, LLC

  (Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Information Technology and Services industry)

  May 2004 — December 2004 (8 months)

  Provided contract Systems Programming services to customers throughout the United States. Was part of a team to 'insource' a computer system for an insurance company. The data on the old machine was backed up, transported to the co-location site, restored and brought up over a weekend. The team effort paid off with a happy customer.

• Sr. Systems Engineer

  DSG

  (Public Company; 501-1000 employees; Information Technology and Services industry)

  January 2003 — March 2004 (1 year 3 months)

  DSG aquired Sytek Services in January 2003. Provided Systems Programming services and support for various sites around the United States. Installed Linux for S/390 and zSeries as 'proofs-of-concept' at a large number of customer locations.

• Sr Systems Engineer

  Sytek Services, Inc

  (Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Information Technology and Services industry)

  October 2001 — December 2002 (1 year 3 months)

  Provided contract Systems Programming services for a large number of customers around the United States. Responsible for installation and maintenance for VM, VSE and Linux for S/390 systems at various customer sites. Also involved in road shows sponsored by Computer Associates and other companies. Attended and spoke at various industry events and trade shows. Conducted training classes in VM and Linux basics and installation.

• Sr. Systems Programmer

  Grede Foundries, Inc.

  (Privately Held; 1001-5000 employees; Automotive industry)

  June 1996 — October 2001 (5 years 5 months)

  Maintained mainframe systems using z/VM, VSE/ESA and Linux for zSeries operating systems.

• Sr. Systems Programmer

  Compuware Corporation

  (Public Company; 1001-5000 employees; Computer Software industry)

  July 1994 — June 1996 (2 years)

  Compuware bought out local consultancy Computer People Unlimited in 1994.

• Sr. Systems Programmer

  Computer People Unlimited

  (Public Company; 501-1000 employees; Information Technology and Services industry)

  June 1990 — June 1994 (4 years 1 month)

  Provided VM and VSE systems support for customers in south-eastern and south-central Wisconsin and northern Illinois.

• Systems Programmer

  Aldrich Chemical Company

  (Public Company; 1001-5000 employees; SIAL; Chemicals industry)

  November 1980 — June 1990 (9 years 8 months)

  Supported VM and VSE systems and third party software running on those operating systems.

Rich Smrcina’s Education

• Milwaukee Area Technical College

  1980 — 1982

• Marquette University High School

  1976 — 1980

Additional Information

Rich Smrcina’s Websites:

• My Company

Rich Smrcina’s Interests:

Technology, Science, History, Reading, Genealogy

Rich Smrcina’s Groups:

WAVV, SHARE, VSE-L, IBMVM-L, IBM-Main, Linux-390 Listserver

Rich Smrcina’s Honors:

Invested into the Companions of the Order of Knights of VM in August 2002 as 'Sir Rich of Consonants'.

Rich Smrcina’s Contact Settings

Interested In:

• career opportunities
• consulting offers
• new ventures
• job inquiries
• expertise requests
• business deals
• reference requests
• getting back in touch