It also happens when moving from startups to FAANG. When I was at Google I worked with a lot of senior/staff engineers who were previously titled director or so

It also happens when moving from startups to FAANG. When I was at Google I worked with a lot of senior/staff engineers who were previously titled director or so, and that's probably because of title inflation at startups but also Google downleveling people because thats the offer they gave the candidate. I do think engineering types often switch out of "director" or "vp" title roles more often than you might think.