I tend to be seen as a product lead / owner / stakeholder, so I feel like I'm being called out. lol

I think one difference is the software engineers see me as someone who is helping them by making their life easier. I'm not just throwing work at them blindly. I'm working with them. Also, they like it when I include them in the data science brainstorming sessions to solve difficult problems. I guess it's seen as exotic or something, but whatever the reason, they really love to be apart of it.