Senior manager, artificial intelligence (ai) strategy & solutions (court executive 3a)

Description If another position becomes available within five months of this recruitment’s closing date, the applicant pool from this posting may be used to fill additional vacancies. When you come to work for New Jersey Judiciary you will join an 8500-member strong TEAM that operates with the highest standards of independence, integrity, fairness and quality service. You will be engaged with work that has purpose, meaning and makes a difference in lives of the public we serve. We work hard every day to build the public’s trust and confidence in our court system, which includes issues such as bail reform, marijuana decriminalization and recovery court.

Whether it be in a courtroom, an administrative office, a courthouse training room, an IT office or in the field, our Judiciary workforce is improving the lives of countless individuals and families every day. We honor the dignity and individualism of each member of our organization while fostering professionalism and continuous improvement in our work.

SALARY: The salary range for this position is $118,671.84 to $181,883.57. For newly hired individuals, the starting salary will normally be at the minimum of the salary range. For current Judiciary employees, salary upon promotion or advancement will be an increase of 5% of base salary, not to exceed the maximum of the range, or the minimum salary of the band/level, whichever is greater. The Judiciary offers a strong opportunity for growth.

The New Jersey Courts’ ITO Data Analytics and AI Group is helping shape the next generation of technology-enabled court services. As artificial intelligence rapidly evolves from experimentation to enterprise capability, the Judiciary is building the strategy, architecture, governance, and delivery capabilities needed to use AI securely, responsibly, and effectively. We are seeking a Senior Manager to help lead this transformation. This is a strategic technology leadership role for someone who can connect AI strategy, modern architecture, data, platforms, business needs, and execution and turning emerging AI capabilities into practical solutions that create measurable value for the Judiciary.

The Senior Manager will help define how AI is designed, built, integrated, governed, and scaled across the organization. This includes enterprise AI architecture, generative and agentic AI patterns, AI-ready data foundations, platform capabilities, reusable solution patterns, and sustainable delivery models through an AI Center of Excellence. This is an opportunity to help establish the technical and strategic foundation for how AI is adopted across the New Jersey Courts.

REMOTE WORK: The Judiciary currently offers a hybrid work schedule, and this position may qualify for up to 2 days of remote work outside of Judiciary buildings. To participate in this program, in addition to installing a multifactor authentication app on your phone or tablet, you will be required to have high speed home internet access.

Example of Duties

• AI Strategy, Architecture & Innovation Define and lead the Judiciary’s enterprise AI strategy, technology roadmap, and architectural direction in alignment with organizational priorities and mission. Establish scalable, secure, sustainable, and reusable architecture patterns for AI solutions across the organization. Develop reference architectures, design patterns, integration standards, and implementation frameworks that accelerate responsible AI adoption. Provide technical leadership on emerging AI architectures, including generative AI, agentic AI, AI agents, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), orchestration, tool integration, and human-in-the-loop workflows. Evaluate emerging AI technologies and translate promising capabilities into practical enterprise solutions.
• AI Solutions & Business Alignment Identify, evaluate, prioritize, and oversee high-value AI opportunities by partnering with business leaders and subject-matter experts to understand operational needs and translate them into practical AI, data, and technology solutions. Guide the design and delivery of AI solutions supporting analytics, automation, information retrieval, decision support, employee productivity, and stakeholder experience. Advise leadership and teams on appropriate AI approaches based on business value, risk, complexity, data availability, and sustainability, while identifying opportunities where traditional technology or process improvements may be more appropriate. Establish feedback-driven and repeatable approaches for refining AI solutions and moving concepts and proofs of concept into production. Champion AI adoption through education, communication, stakeholder engagement, and change leadership.
• AI Governance, Risk & Trust Help establish responsible AI practices that balance innovation with security, privacy, transparency, compliance, and public-sector accountability. Contribute to the development and continuous improvement of enterprise AI governance frameworks, standards, and controls. Guide practices related to AI lifecycle management, model and application risk, third-party AI services, auditability, explainability, security, and monitoring. Partner with governance, legal, security, privacy, and business stakeholders to ensure AI solutions meet applicable requirements and organizational standards.
• AI Technology, Data & Platform Enablement Partner with Data, Application, Platform, Security, and Infrastructure teams to establish the AI-ready data, integration, and technology foundations required to develop and scale enterprise AI solutions. Guide requirements for AI-ready data pipelines, retrieval, metadata, APIs, and integration with enterprise data, applications, and technology platforms. Establish repeatable practices for AI development, deployment, lifecycle management, monitoring, performance, usage, and cost management. Ensure AI solutions are designed for security, interoperability, maintainability, scalability, and long-term sustainability across the enterprise.
• AI Center of Excellence Leadership Lead the AI Center of Excellence as a focal point for AI strategy, architecture, standards, reusable patterns, governance alignment, and solution delivery. Establish the COE operating model, engagement processes, architectural standards, reusable assets, and communities of practice needed to accelerate responsible AI adoption. Build strong partnerships across business and technology organizations to connect innovation with enterprise execution. Establish and monitor meaningful AI performance and impact metrics, demonstrating adoption, value, risk, and organizational outcomes.

Preferred Qualifications

• Working knowledge of modern AI architecture patterns, including generative AI, agentic AI, AI agents, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), orchestration, tool/API integration, and human-in-the-loop workflows.
• Experience leading complex, cross-functional initiatives involving business stakeholders, data teams, developers, architects, security teams, and governance partners.
• Strong understanding of AI/ML technologies, data engineering, model lifecycle management, enterprise architecture, and platform integration patterns.
• Experience defining reference architecture, technical standards, and scalable implementation models for enterprise technology or AI solutions.
• Knowledge of AI governance, responsible AI principles, privacy, legal, ethical, and security considerations.
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and change leadership skills.

Regular and predictable physical presence at the worksite is an essential function of this position.

Qualifications

Graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor's degree and seven years of managerial experience, which shall have included responsibility for the management of administrative operations; experience with budgeting; development and implementation of programs, policies and procedures; and responsibility for reviewing, prioritizing, and assessing information technology initiatives, projects, and staff; developing, implementing, and supporting complex systems, database, network, and applications environments; aligning technology strategies with business objectives; optimizing use of Information Technology resources including developing budgets and controlling costs; and/or defining applications development methodologies and four years of supervision of professional staff.

Substitution: Applicants who do not possess the required education may substitute additional professional experience on a year-for-year basis with one year of such experience being equal to 30 semester hour credits. An associate's degree and two years of additional professional experience may be substituted for the required bachelor's degree. A master's degree may be substituted for one year of experience as indicated above -OR- a law degree may be substituted for two years of experience as indicated above.

Education Note: Degrees conferred outside of the United States must be evaluated by a recognized evaluation service. (See https://naces.org/members/)

Supplemental Information

Driver's License: Appointee will be required to possess a driver's license valid in New Jersey only if the operation of a vehicle is necessary to perform essential duties of the position. Authorization to Work: US citizenship is not required. Selected candidate must be authorized to work in the US according to Department of Homeland Security, US Citizenship and Immigration Services regulations. Special Note: Newly hired employees must agree to a thorough background check that will include fingerprinting. All data received will be kept in strict confidence except to inform the individual of the findings and what action will be taken as a result of this information.

Residency Law: In accordance with N.J.S.A. 52:14-7 (L. 2011, Chapter 70), the "New Jersey First Act," all persons newly hired by the Judiciary within one year must establish, and then maintain, principal residence in the State of New Jersey. Any person may request an exemption from that requirement from the Employee Residency Review Committee in the Department of Labor & Workforce Development on the basis of either hardship or employer critical need.

HOW TO APPLY: The NJ Judiciary requires all applicants to complete the application process fully and as instructed. All applicants must complete the work experience and education sections and attach any required documents. Applications must describe all relevant work experience in detail, beginning with your current or most recent job, including military service (indicate rank), internships and job-related volunteer work, if applicable. Use a separate section to describe each position. Applicants who indicate "see resume" or enter their initials to acknowledge that they have skipped the Work History and Education sections will not be considered, unless they do not possess any education history or work experience. Only applicants that follow the application instructions and submit completed applications will be considered.

The New Jersey Judiciary consists of: the Supreme Court, the Superior Court including the Appellate Division and the Trial Court of the 15 vicinages in New Jersey, the Tax Court and the Municipal Court System. The Administrative Office of the Courts provides technical assistance, operational support, training, research and development, budget and personnel coordination, and development and operation of information systems for the Courts of New Jersey. The Judiciary of New Jersey is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer Committed to Ensuring an Open Door to Justice NeoGov applicant support at 1-877-204-4442 (toll free call) Monday through Friday, 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM Mountain Time (MT)