FOSS Licensing SME

Role Title: FOSS Licensing SME
Location: Sheffield - 3 Days per Week Onsite
Start Date: ASAP
Duration: 30/11/2026
Rate: £525p/d via Umbrella

Role Description:

Bank is seeking a Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) Licensing Subject Matter Expert (SME) to support the definition, enhancement, and ongoing governance of policies, processes, and controls related to the consumption and contribution of open source software across the organisation.
This role sits within the Engineering Practice team in the Technology CTO function and requires close collaboration with engineering teams as well as Bank's Legal. The successful candidate will bring strong expertise in open source licensing, copyright considerations, and regulatory implications within a controlled financial services environment.
The role is suited to a self starter who can operate independently, manage competing priorities, and deliver high quality outcomes under tight deadlines.

Key Responsibilities

. Assess and clearly communicate the implications of FOSS licenses (including copyright, modification, and distribution) to engineering teams
. Support training and awareness initiatives across engineering teams on FOSS licensing implications
. Categorise and assess licenses not recognised by automated tooling into defined categories (Liberal, Permissible, Weak Copyleft, Copyleft, Banned)
. Review existing treatment of open source licenses and recommend improvements, exceptions, or conditional usage approaches
. Contribute to the selection, assessment, and continuous improvement of automated license evaluation tooling
. Act as a liaison between Engineering, Legal, and Risk stakeholders to ensure compliant and scalable adoption of open source software

Required Skills & Experience

Essential
. Post graduate experience in copyright law or contract law
. Strong interest in and practical exposure to software development
. Hands on experience with open source software, either from a usage or contribution standpoint
. Prior experience working within a regulated or controlled environment (eg financial services, risk, compliance)
. Excellent attention to detail, organisation, and stakeholder communication skills

Desirable
. Formal legal training with a focus on copyright or software licensing
. Exposure to DevSecOps practices
. Experience working in an Agile delivery environment
. Experience with FOSS compliance and evaluation tooling (eg Nexus IQ Server, Black Duck, or equivalent)

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