Well, I’d advise anyone to constantly look for opportunities. I used to job-hop roughly every 2-3 years because I got a better opportunity. But I stayed more than 6 years at my previous workplace. Not the best financial decision but I liked my job in applied research.

To me, it doesn’t sound like a “no go”. To me, it sounds like “consider to go [elsewhere]”.

I’ve been coding for money for some 18 years. It’s not unheard of to switch from one team to another or one product to another. Are you a contractor (i.e. self-employed independent contractor / consultant)? If so, you can definitely speak about autonomy and you can walk away from it if you don’t like it. If you are an employee, there is no real autonomy whatsoever. HR departments of some companies might want you to believe that you are somewhat valuable for them, in reality, you are an expense - a resource. In any larger company, you are a cog in the wheel. They want you in another team? There might not be much you can do about it.

I don’t really understand what your role really is. Social skills, research? Are you a manager? Are you a researcher? What does “all of that” mean?