Is there a path for regular SWEs at Google to transition into a Brain-like role? I.e. with opportunities to do research, work on the problems you all work on.
Yes, there's the "ML ninjas" program, which brings non-ML SWEs into brain and other groups for a deep dive into machine learning through a project-based approach. (Often, but not exclusively, inspired by a problem from their originating area.). It's not a transition per se, but a great outcome is that the person becomes a bridge for their team between their specific domain of expertise and machine learning.
A full transition would be done by the usual transfer mechanisms. Two of my former students have switched into Brain from elsewhere in Google, for example.
