[kya_isro]

The answer to that question is the same as, what do you like spending much more time on, machine learning and statistics or software engineering. Good career trajectories often start with answering that question. Talk to the hiring manager about your skills and why you want that data science position. It will be difficult but you will find a data science team, which will not make a decision based on the fact whether you have a PhD are not. PhDs are just an extreme oversimplification of data science skills, and there is hardly any other possible degree example that would qualify, CS undergrad is already taken for SWE positions like you are stating. Don't let these oversimplication of role requirements bog you down, it is made for HR people not you.