Patrick Stanczyc is one of the many skilled GAI professionals helping clients create better data infrastructure, transportation infrastructure, communities, water infrastructure, power generation and delivery, and more from our office locations throughout the United States. Let’s find out a little about Patrick—the background, motivation, and methods that he brings to the table every day for GAI and GAI’s clients.
Q: Please tell us a little bit about your area of specialization and what drew you to it.
Patrick Stanczyc: I’ve been in the data center world for 10 ½ years, but my roots in mission-critical work go back 19 ½ years, starting with my time in Navy nuclear operations. I did not set out chasing a career in data center commissioning work specifically. I was looking to relocate and wanted a new career because the industry I was in was collapsing; the opportunity that came up happened to be with data centers.
Funny enough, growing up, I had exposure to a different kind of “data center,” the old style of raised-floor rooms that still used tape reels. At the time, I had no idea what it was, but it has been interesting to see the transformation over the years. What kept me in it, and still does today, is the range of technical expertise the work demands.
Q: What role do you play at GAI and what sorts of projects do you typically contribute to?
Patrick: I am an Assistant Technical Director, and I oversee GAI’s commissioning services. My focus is mostly on the development and expansion of our data center group, with all my current projects relating to data center commissioning work. That means building out the processes and structure behind how GAI delivers commissioning services, from construction quality management work with general contractors to independent, third-party commissioning authority engagements, and making sure our teams have what they need to execute well on both sides.
Q: Why do you feel that GAI is a good place to put your skills to work?
Patrick: I wasn’t just looking for another job doing field work, commissioning, or project or program management. I have done plenty of that already. What drew me to GAI was the chance to build something: to help create the business infrastructure and operations behind a data center commissioning services line, not just execute within a program someone else had already built. The opportunity to shape the program itself, rather than just work inside it, was the deciding factor.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
Patrick: What I love most about commissioning, not just at GAI, but in this field generally, is the breadth of technical knowledge it demands. To do it well, you have to understand mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire and life safety systems well enough to understand the design intent and how to test systems for compliance, all while working alongside contractors and operations as a sort of conductor helping to complete the puzzle.
That depth is something I’m always chasing; I want to stay on top of it and keep pushing the industry’s processes to be more efficient and effective. When it’s done right, commissioning puts you in the room during predesign, keeps you involved through construction, and carries you all the way to functional testing and turnover to operations. Being part of that full arc, working alongside the design and operations teams rather than on just one aspect of the work, is what keeps me learning and keeps the job interesting.
From a commissioning standpoint, I often think of construction like troubleshooting electrical equipment. You can see different symptoms in different places, but they may all trace back to the same underlying issue. I like being part of the process that connects those dots between design, installation, testing, and operations, helping the team understand issues, resolve them effectively, and prevent them from becoming larger problems at turnover.
Q: How do you measure your success?
At GAI, we are always looking for remarkable talent to join our team.
Patrick: For me, measuring project success comes down to a few things. Client feedback is a significant factor, as is how our team gauges its own performance, evaluating how well we worked with vendors, contractors, and clients. In terms of personal success, mentoring is just as important to me. I want to be constantly developing staff, helping them to grow professionally. As a leader, real success looks like bringing people up to the level where they’re ready for their next promotion. And for a few, that may raise them to the point where one is ready to take my job. We all grow together.
Q: What inspires you, and what are you passionate about?
Patrick: I’m driven by the technical depth this work demands. Commissioning touches mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire and life safety systems across the full project lifecycle, from design through construction and turnover to operations. That range means there’s always something new to master. I genuinely enjoy chasing that. I’m just as passionate about mentoring, bringing up junior team members, helping them build technical confidence, and eventually watching them step into leadership themselves. Growing people is just as rewarding to me as growing the program.
Contact Commissioning Program Manager Patrick Stanczyc, 321.319.2510 for more information about GAI’s commissioning and MEP QA/QC services for data center and mission-critical projects.
Read more from GAI’s Data Center / Mission-Critical Facility Commissioning team:
- Data Center / Mission-Critical Facility Commissioning: What It Is, Why It Matters, and Why Owners Cannot Afford to Get It Wrong
- 5 Reasons Why Data Center / Mission-Critical Facility Commissioning Matters
Patrick Stanczyc leads a team dedicated to supporting mission-critical power and energy projects with a focus on commissioning strategy, program delivery, and risk mitigation for complex facilities. He brings more than a decade of experience leading commissioning and MEP construction programs for hyperscale and colocation data centers, and has built a reputation for operating effectively in high-risk, schedule-compressed environments while balancing technical requirements, field execution, and client priorities.
