The term already exists
Since late 2025, "Forward Deployed Creative" has been a job title at AI creative-tool companies. Their job is to go into customer accounts and get you using the tool.
The other side of the table
Nobody owns the customer-side version: a creative who deploys for the company, stays tool-agnostic, and works the way a forward deployed engineer does. In your Slack, on your timeline, shipping.
Embed, ship, leave it as code
Most creatives hand over files. Most AI people hand over demos. An independent FDC ships the work inside your team, then leaves your brand behind as agent skills, so your people and their agents keep producing on-brand work after the deployment ends.
TODO: Ryan's essay. Suggested beats: what an FDE is and why founders already get it · who hires FDCs today and why · why the customer side is the gap · what a Kernel is, with the Skillsync skills as the example · how to tell if you need one.