Maybe someone who actually works at FAANG can weigh in, but I would think that one of your best bets would be getting into one as a general SWE and then transitioning to AI/ML internally after a year. I recall Google even having some sort of internal program that encouraged this. Getting into Google is a moonshot, but it's possible to do so with no prior professional programming experience if you put in a ton of effort AND get lucky. Amazon seems willing to train too, based on the following experience I had:
I'm an iOS engineer without a STEM background, and I've been contacted by Amazon recruiters for entry-level ML/AI positions. I thought it was weird, but they said they've hired a few people with iOS backgrounds and no prior ML/AI experience who are now excellent ML engineers. I backed out because I knew I would fail the interview process at this point, but it's something for me to think about for the future.
Yes. I have been contacted by Google recruiters multiple times for SWE role(though my resume has no programming experience at work). Apparently, their entry ticket involves reading up Skiena cover to cover and Leetcoding your way through their interview process, which I am absolutely open to.
This is the most direct and predictable path forward, _if_ that is something you are up for, I certainly recommend that route.
There are tons of youtube videos and books (Cracking, Dynamic Programming for Interviews, etc). Definitely do research into questions that will be asked.
Internal transition is always easier, I have several colleagues went from SWE to ML related roles this year. One thing worth noting is that most of them work on building ML infra/platform rather than direct user facing ML features, so it is not drastically different from what they did previously.
Random side note, but when is the 'FAANG' acronym going to die? MSFT is killing it, prob the top tech company around these days. Needs to be included in that list.
I'm an iOS engineer without a STEM background, and I've been contacted by Amazon recruiters for entry-level ML/AI positions. I thought it was weird, but they said they've hired a few people with iOS backgrounds and no prior ML/AI experience who are now excellent ML engineers. I backed out because I knew I would fail the interview process at this point, but it's something for me to think about for the future.