Google FDE Interview - Passed but No Offer due to Headcount

Looking for some insight from Googlers/recruiters.

I recently completed the loop for an FDE role at Google. The interview feedback was positive, but unfortunately the headcount had already been filled, so they would not be extending an offer for this opening.

Has anyone seen this situation before?

A few questions:

Would SWE teams be able to see or potentially reuse the interview feedback from the FDE process?

Is applying through the portal enough? Any tips?

Has anyone successfully transferred from an FDE interview process into a SWE process?

For context, I currently work as a Software Engineer building GenAI and distributed systems, with previous SDE experience at Amazon.

Would appreciate any insight from people familiar with Google's hiring process.

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