[the_af]

But is it universal for companies that aren't startups (or FAANG, where I hear they are also pushing for EMs to get their hands dirty or be fired -- or was that just Facebook)?

Like the comment you're replying to, I've also have NOT experienced this shift in EM skills. In my experience, they are still about making the team happy and productive, and definitely NOT coding or designing software (though I'll concede most seem technically minded and understand the details well enough to ask relevant questions and push back against bad takes).

But coding? Nope. EMs are still about the team, careers, hiring, alignment, etc.

C-levels forcing AI on everything, whether it makes sense or not, is definitely a symptom of the times.