When most people think of artificial intelligence and tech hubs in the United States, their brains probably bring up San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle: the undisputed reigning champs of tech. However, New Jersey has quietly entered the market in a big way in recent years. For instance, Governor Phil Murphy signed a law in 2024 to help bring more AI development here. A year later, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJDEA) created the Next New Jersey Program – AI to help encourage private investment in the state’s growing AI sector.
At the time, NJDEA CEO Tim Sullivan stated that “AI offers a multitude of economic opportunities for the state’s entrepreneurs, businesses, and residents, and these new initiatives will ensure that companies and industry stakeholders have the opportunity and resources needed to invest in AI and contribute to its ongoing growth and evolution.” As a result, anyone fascinated by the power of artificial intelligence has a great opportunity to join this growing market and find an exciting and rewarding career, even without significant training.
The Most Significant New Jersey Industries Using Artificial Intelligence
New Jersey is the fourth-smallest state in the country by land mass—an indisputable fact! However, few people know that it’s the 11th largest (9.62 million) and most densely populated (nearly 1,300 people per square mile). In the state’s biggest cities (Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, Elizabeth, and Trenton, to name a few), residents enjoy a bustling, diverse, and modern economy, producing a staggering $663.9 billion yearly for the state—not bad at all!
Within this expansive economic region, tech is king! Sure, it’s not the largest employer in the state, but it (according to the New Jersey state government) still offers 184,400 jobs, or 5.8% of all employment in the region. Furthermore, the average wage within this market is around $150,000, including opportunities in professional, scientific, and technical services (76.6% of the field), especially within industries connected to artificial development and implementation.
Technology Development and Manufacturing
Outside of New York City, New Jersey offers the East Coast the highest concentration of technology-adjacent jobs, including companies developing big data products, artificial intelligence tools, telecom services, cybersecurity protection, and FinTech support. Prominent New Jersey firms in this market include Audible, Cognizant, IGATE, Verisk Analytics, SwagUp, Tipico, Own, Nuts.com, and Fulcrum Digital. Even if they don’t work directly in AI development, these companies likely need experts who understand these tools and their unique uses.
Clean Energy Production
Few states in the country have tackled the energy crisis as successfully as New Jersey. According to Choose New Jersey, their renewable portfolio standard mandates 50% clean energy production by 2030 and 100% clean energy by 2050. In fact, solar and wind sub-sectors are enormous, with the development of a 1,100 MW wind farm in Atlantic City, which is the largest offshore wind procurement ever in the nation. These companies (including EDF Renewables, Elumis, Green Power Energy, and Harken Power) need AI tools to improve production and design processes.
Film and Media Production
Did you know that Fort Lee, New Jersey, was once the film capital of the world (way back in the 1890s)? While Hollywood has clearly taken the lead since then, New Jersey offers the second-largest film and media community outside California. The state’s colossal film tax credit (30% of all qualified film production costs) attracts many filmmakers to the area every year. Unsurprisingly, this market uses artificial intelligence tools on a massive scale to analyze scripts, create raw materials, cast actors, and even create attractive visual art to streamline the process.
Advanced Manufacturing Firms
Once the center of the United States’ industrial revolution, New Jersey’s market has modernized extensively and shifted heavily toward the tech sector. However, the King of Manufacturing still has over 2,500 advanced manufacturing firms producing around $50 billion yearly for the state. Companies like Mars, Samsung, Messer, Cantel, NJ Transit, Stonhard, Fuji Film, and J&J Snack Food provide thousands of jobs, an increasing number of which are taken up by AI experts. Professionals in this field help produce “smart factories” using AI-powered collaborative robots.
Logistics and Planning
Since (according to Choose New Jersey) a staggering 33% of the country’s population lives within a day’s drive of the state, New Jersey’s logistics industry is enormous. We’re talking about the second-largest seaport in the country and the busiest airport system (alongside New York City and Philadelphia). Major corporations like Volkswagen, Amazon, Williams-Sonoma, and Barnes and Noble operate out of the state and use AI regularly. How? AI helps improve demand forecasting, production pattern analysis, and fleet management efficiency exponentially.
Food and Beverage Industries
Yes, the Midwest is the breadbasket of the nation, but New Jersey’s essential food and beverage sector truly brings meals to American tables every day! Some of the world’s biggest food companies (like Campbell Soup, Bai Brands, Mars-Wrigley, Unilever, Sabert, B&G Foods, Lassonde Pappas and Company, Rastelli Foods Group, and Cibo Vita) operate in and out of the region. Firms like these use artificial intelligence tools to predict customer demand, build sustainable delivery processes, reduce waste, and meet strict regulatory guidelines.
Artificial Intelligence Employers Hiring in New Jersey
In mid-2024, New Jersey made headlines (in Wired) by investing $500 million in its artificial intelligence industry infrastructure. This step centered on creating a tax credit designed specifically for AI businesses, hoping to attract as many firms and employees as possible to the state’s burgeoning tech market. So far, this initiative has helped attract companies like CoreWeave (worth $19 billion) to the region and kept other adjacent employers centered in the state for the foreseeable future. These companies offer a wealth of great AI-related job opportunities:
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AYR: Headquartered in Princeton, AYR is an AI company focused heavily on bringing artificial intelligence to every element of business for its customers. Since 2018, AYR has helped develop computer vision and OCR tools on their SingularityAI platform.
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ElectrifiAI: ElectrifiAI specializes in collecting and analyzing data using AI and machine learning solutions. Once they’ve processed this information, they provide actionable insights and plans for their customers to help them develop more effective processes.
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True Search: True Search offers Haddonfield businesses (and those far beyond the city) AI-assisted analysis that helps firms dominate their markets. These tools check a company’s potential with its actual results and work to help expectations meet reality.
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Pozent Corporation: Pozent focuses heavily on automated AI tools that help boost business volume, reduce overhead costs, and create effective production strategies. Their products and services include chatbot support and app development.
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OperaSolutions: Specializing in data science and analytics, OperaSolutions uses artificial intelligence (machine learning and predictive analysis in particular) to sort and understand large reams of information to help companies make intelligent decisions.
Fascinating New Jersey Artificial Intelligence Jobs
Serious job seekers checking out Glassdoor, LinkedIn, Jobsora, ZipRecruiter, SimplyHired, and Indeed will be surprised to find 300 to 1,000 artificial intelligence jobs in New Jersey: that’s not bad at all! What are they getting into, though? Expect positions in fields like marketing, bioengineering, manufacturing, and business analysis. They offer residents diverse job duties and competitive salaries that may transform their lives for the better in so many ways.
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Machine Learning Engineer: A Machine Learning Engineer focuses on building and testing machine learning tools to improve speech recognition, image analysis, and content generation. According to ZipRecruiter, they earn between $130,000 on average in New Jersey.
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AI Product Manager: As AI Product Managers, workers help define product goals, coordinate teams, and ensure their tools and services satisfy customers. Glassdoor reports an average salary of $176,000 for New Jersey residents in this field.
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AI Market Strategist: AI market strategists use AI-powered tools to gauge customer behavior, improve their campaigns, and personalize results. They earn about $96,000 in New Jersey (according to Salary.com), though wages vary between $79,000 and $114,000 for entry-level and senior roles.
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Data Analyst: A Data Analyst uses AI tools to collect large amounts of information quickly, analyze trends and patterns, and provide insights for customers. They often help companies make intelligent investment decisions. ZipRecruiter reports an average salary of $83,000 in New Jersey.
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AI Ethics Specialist: Even in an AI-friendly state like New Jersey, debates about proper usage rage. In this field, an AI Ethics Specialist helps develop frameworks to ensure appropriate and accountable uses for these tools. They earn between $66,000 and $93,000 in New Jersey.
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Natural Language Processing Specialist: Currently one of the fastest-growing roles in AI, this job is a useful “in” career, as this entry-level position offers individuals with little experience the chance to join the field. ZipRecruiter reports salaries with an average of $53,000 in New Jersey.