Just to clarify (I'm not taking a particular position on this discussion): At Facebook, as of earlier this year at least, most Software Engineer and Production

Just to clarify (I'm not taking a particular position on this discussion): At Facebook, as of earlier this year at least, most Software Engineer and Production Engineer hires are definitely not headed toward a particular team. For the first few weeks, they're in 'bootcamp', which is quite generalized. For example: I've never done any meaningful Android or iPhone development in my life, but during bootcamp, I learned how to do Android and iPhone development (at a basic level) at Facebook. After the first few weeks, but with a couple of weeks remaining in bootcamp, new hires are actively looking at and talking to different teams with open positions to join. By the end of bootcamp, a total of about five weeks, the person formally joins a team.