This is definitely one of the most interesting and insightful descriptions of working at a FANG company ive read.

The only note worth mentioning is confusion around the pod system, which I think actually sounds surprisingly effective for creating "culture". The op looks for an engineerimg explanation to justify meeting up with a group of disparate employees working on different projects, at different levels, and in different facets of the company. To me it sounds like a genuinely productive way to create relationships and "water cooler" interactions by letting it not have some ulterior motives related to the product.

That might be bias and optimism on my parent, and I'm sure the reality isn't that pretty either.