Director of Innovation and Partnerships

Overview:

In March 2025, Princeton University, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA), Microsoft, and CoreWeave launched the New Jersey AI Hub, a first-of-its-kind public-private partnership designed to accelerate innovation in artificial intelligence and position New Jersey as a global leader in the field. The Hub will bring together AI researchers, entrepreneurs, industry, educational institutions, and the public sector to advance world-class research and development; drive transformative AI innovation; empower the workforce for the AI era; and shape the future of responsible AI deployment.

The NJ AI Hub seeks a visionary and execution-oriented Director of Innovation & Partnerships to lead the development and implementation of the NJ AI Hub's innovation ecosystem strategy. This role will be instrumental in positioning New Jersey as a national leader in inclusive AI innovation, from research to real-world application, and from early-stage startup acceleration to commercialization and scale.

Reporting to and working closely with the Executive Director, the Director of Innovation & Partnerships will also play a critical role in advancing the Hub's AI ecosystem building work and its long-term financial sustainability. This includes cultivating strategic revenue-generating partnerships, exploring diverse funding models, and helping to secure public and private investment to support programs and infrastructure.

The Director of Innovation & Partnerships will be responsible for developing the collaborations, infrastructure, and programs that support the full innovation lifecycle, including research and development, venture capital and industry partnerships, and entrepreneurship supports. The Director of Innovation's work will enable commercialization pathways, promote equitable access to AI's benefits, and help catalyze economic growth and industry transformation across the state.

This is a two-year term position with possibility of extension.

For full consideration, candidates should provide a cover letter with their resume.

Responsibilities:

Innovation Strategy & Ecosystem Development

• Work closely with Executive Director to design and execute a multi-year strategy to grow and strengthen New Jersey's AI innovation ecosystem.
• Identify market gaps across the AI innovation lifecycle, from R&D to commercialization, scale, and adoption, to inform programming and partnership development.
• Strengthen connections between government, academia, industry, and capital to ensure coordinated ecosystem growth.
• Develop KPIs for the Hub's innovation strategy and track outcomes.
• Design innovation strategy's contributions to the Hub's financial sustainability model, including revenue-generating opportunities, philanthropic support, and sustainable funding models for innovation programs.

Partnership Development

• Cultivate partnerships with industry, academic institutions, venture capital firms, startups, incubators/accelerators, national labs, and philanthropic partners to execute on the innovation ecosystem strategy.
• Work closely with partners to co-develop programs, pilots, and investment opportunities.

Industry, Startup & Commercialization Support

• Oversee design and execution of AI-focused innovation programs, including a startup accelerator and a pipeline of support services and capital access for startups at various stages, including by working with Executive Director to attract venture capital to New Jersey-based start-ups.
• Cultivate corporate innovation partnerships by connecting industry leaders with startups, researchers, and pilot opportunities to accelerate technology adoption, drive joint ventures, and unlock new commercialization pathways.

Innovation Infrastructure & Convening

• As needed, coordinate with government, private sector, and educational institutions to build enabling infrastructure (labs, testbeds, sandboxes, datasets).
• Create visibility and momentum around the AI innovation ecosystem through convenings, showcases, challenges, and thought leadership.

Regional Impact

• Embed an economic development mindset into all innovation efforts, ensuring local communities and regions benefit from and contribute to AI's growth in New Jersey.
• Coordinate with regional innovation stakeholders, particularly fellow Strategic Innovation Centers, to build an inclusive innovation ecosystem across New Jersey.

Qualifications:

Required:

• 10+ years of experience in innovation, technology commercialization, venture development, revenue generation and ecosystem-building roles in government, academia, or industry.
• Familiarity with the AI innovation lifecycle, including R&D, startup formation, acceleration, capital raising, and market scaling.
• Proven ability to broker complex partnerships and align diverse stakeholders toward a common vision.
• Demonstrated success in building or scaling innovation programs or ecosystems.
• Strategic thinker with operational acumen; able to develop and execute on a vision.
• Experience working in or alongside revenue-generating or fundraising initiatives.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and relationship-building skills.

Preferred:

• Experience working with academia, government, and the private sector.
• Strong networks across the AI and emerging tech ecosystem, including startups, VCs, researchers, and anchor institutions.
• Knowledge of inclusive innovation principles and experience applying them in program or ecosystem design.
• Strong technical understanding of AI, with the ability to collaborate closely with startup teams on engineering architecture, system design, and implementation.

Princeton University is an Equal Opportunity and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

The University considers factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's qualifications, work experience, education/training, key skills, market, collective bargaining agreements as applicable, and organizational considerations when extending an offer. The posted salary range represents the University's good faith and reasonable estimate for a full-time position; salaries for part-time positions are pro-rated accordingly.

If the salary range on the posted position shows an hourly rate, this is the baseline; the actual hourly rate may be higher, depending on the position and factors listed above.

The University also offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees. Please see this link for more information.

Standard Weekly Hours: 36.25 Eligible for Overtime: No Benefits Eligible: Yes Probationary Period: 180 days Essential Services Personnel (see policy for detail): No Physical Capacity Exam Required: No Valid Driver's License Required: No Experience Level: Director : #LI-GR1 Salary Range: $211,000 to $231,000