Yes it's possible - I've spent the last 4ish years of my career making this transition and have only recently "made it" into a role that affords me the opportun

Yes it's possible - I've spent the last 4ish years of my career making this transition and have only recently "made it" into a role that affords me the opportunity to spend most of my time as an AI/ML practitioner. Unfortunately there is still a ton of gatekeeping in this industry where hiring managers often want to see Phd's and work published in journals when the positions they are hiring for have little to do with these experiences. The upside is that industry seems to be gradually changing as companies begin to understand that fundamental engineering skills are far more important then deep theoretical knowledge of the theory and math.