Fujifilm launches a group-wide "Future Design & Engineering Center" built on the Forward Deployed Engineer model

FUJIFILM Holdings announced on October 30 that it will establish the Future Design & Engineering Center (FDE-C), a group-wide AI and IT technology development organization, effective November 1, 2026. It reports directly to Chief Digital Officer Jun Masumoto.

The company says it has evolved the Forward Deployed Engineer concept, where technical specialists find business problems and carry solutions all the way through to implementation, into a model that fits its varied portfolio. AI and IT specialists will belong to FDE-C but work closely inside business operations to uncover underlying challenges, build and ship technology into products and services, and deliver measurable business outcomes.

FDE-C will also collect and systematize the technology, know-how and development assets built in one business so they can be reused across the rest of the group, and it aims to develop people who combine advanced AI and IT skills with deep business understanding. Fujifilm did not disclose headcount or budget.

Why it matters for FDEs: this is one of the clearest signs yet of a large, diversified manufacturer adopting the FDE model internally and even naming a standing organization after it. It points to FDE-style roles spreading beyond AI vendors to enterprises deploying AI inside their own businesses, with the same emphasis on embedding with users and feeding reusable work back to a central team.