FOSS SME

Role Summary

We are seeking an experienced Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) Licensing Subject Matter Expert to support a large-scale engineering organisation within a complex technology environment. This contract role sits within a Cloud and Shared Services Engineering function and plays a critical part in enabling engineering teams to deliver software securely, at pace, and in line with open-source licensing obligations.

You will provide hands-on expertise across FOSS governance, licensing analysis, tooling, and controls, working closely with engineering, platform, tooling, and legal teams. This role is suited to a seasoned specialist who can operate autonomously, make sound risk-based decisions, and deliver immediate impact in a fast-moving environment.

The Opportunity

As a contract FOSS Licensing SME, you will support and strengthen the processes and controls governing how open-source software is consumed, assessed, and managed. You will act as a trusted advisor to engineering teams, helping them navigate licensing obligations while enabling innovation and delivery.

This is a delivery-focused role requiring strong judgement, pragmatism, and the ability to work under pressure with minimal supervision.

What you will do

Working as part of an international team, you will:

Provide expert advice to engineering teams on FOSS licensing implications for new and existing applications
Analyse licence and copyright considerations for open-source software acquisition and usage
Use FOSS scanning and licence analysis tools to identify risks, issues, and compliance gaps
Work with legal, engineering, and tooling teams to resolve licensing risks pragmatically
Support and continuously improve FOSS control processes and governance frameworks
Review current treatments of open-source licences and recommend improvements where required
Classify licences not recognised by automated tooling into defined internal categories
Contribute to training, guidance, and awareness materials for engineering teams
Provide leadership and oversight to FOSS licensing analysts where required
Support the evaluation, selection, and enhancement of FOSS licensing and scanning tools

Essential experience

You will be an experienced contractor with a strong background in software licensing, open-source governance, or IT asset management, and will bring:

Deep knowledge of open-source licences, their obligations, and risk implications
Proven experience analysing open-source components and licence compatibility
Hands-on experience with at least one open-source scanning or licence evaluation tool
Strong understanding of software licensing agreement terminology
Experience working directly with legal teams to interpret and apply licence terms
Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills
Familiarity with collaboration and delivery tools such as Confluence, Jira, and SharePoint

Desirable experience

Experience working across legal, engineering, and platform teams in large organisations
Practical exposure to open-source software from a usage or contribution perspective
Understanding of the software development life cycle and DevSecOps practices
Experience working in Agile delivery environments
Exposure to tools such as Nexus IQ Server, FOSSology, or similar
Legal or copyright law training