Spotlight On: Robert Schanck, Senior Vice President, LJA Engineering

Key points:

• • LJA Engineering is scaling in Central Florida through diversified services, strategic growth, and its employee-owned ESOP model.
• • Transportation, utilities, renewable energy, and data centers are driving rising infrastructure demand across Greater Orlando.
• • AI adoption is expanding, but disciplined data use and municipal planning remain critical to long-term competitiveness.

February 2026 — Invest: spoke with Robert Schanck, senior vice president of LJA Engineering, about how a diversified service platform, employee ownership, and technology investments are helping the firm keep pace with Central Florida’s growth. “If you put bad data in, you’re going to get unreliable or bad data out,” Schanck said.

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How would you characterize LJA’s role in the Orlando market, and what recent milestones best reflect your growth?

LJA is a full-service multi-discipline engineering firm, and we organize a lot of what we do around our eight service sectors so clients have access to specialists. We cover a wide range of services, including surveying, land development, power and energy, telecom, environmental, transportation, and other related areas.

Over the past year, growth has been a combination of strategic acquisitions and organic expansion. We’re up to about 17 offices in Florida now, and we’ve tried to keep that growth sustainable. You’ll see some firms acquire quickly, then they lose staff. We’re focused on building long-term capability and keeping teams intact as we expand.

Another important part of who we are is that we’re an ESOP. We’re employee-owned, and that matters for recruiting and retention, but it also matters for clients. It aligns incentives around quality and service, and it helps create continuity on projects.

Over the past decade, what shifts have most defined the engineering and infrastructure landscape in Central Florida?

Florida is cyclical, and Central Florida is no different. You’ll have periods where housing is booming, and a lot of firms chase that work. We do a significant amount of single-family residential and master-planned communities for large builders, so we understand that market well.

But the risk is relying too heavily on one segment. When the cycle turns, firms that are concentrated in one lane can struggle. Our approach has been diversification, both across services and across markets. We’ve expanded in areas like power and energy, transportation, industrial, and other categories that help balance demand. That diversification lets us retain staff through downturns and continue delivering at a high level, even when one part of the market cools.

Where are the most visible infrastructure pressures across Greater Orlando?

Transportation is one of the biggest pressures. Our transportation group is continuing to grow because the region needs more capacity to handle the population growth and the rooftops coming online across the metro.

Another part of the pressure is utilities. Development can only move as fast as water, sewer, and supporting infrastructure allow. Builders may want to go to certain areas, but if the infrastructure isn’t there, projects slow down or become more complicated.

From our side, we try to be positioned across the major markets in Florida and to stack services within offices. If an office is strong in transportation, for example, we’ll build out the land and surveying practices around it. That gives clients a full-service team that can support projects across the state with consistency.

What economic or development trends are shaping demand for engineering services, including mixed-use growth?

Demand is still strong overall, but it’s shifting. Multifamily hasn’t been as strong as it was in prior years, and you can see developers being more selective. Single-family remains active, but there are shifts in what’s being built, including a continued need for affordable housing.

On the infrastructure side, renewable energy is a major driver. We’re seeing a big push in solar, and that creates demand not only for the solar fields, but also for the supporting substations and transmission lines to move power to where it’s needed. We’re doing work with utilities in Florida and the Southeast, and that sector continues to be a growth engine.

We’re also seeing industrial growth, tied to logistics and warehousing, and that comes with infrastructure requirements of its own.

Data centers are becoming a bigger conversation statewide. What are you seeing in Central Florida?

It’s still developing, and it’s a little unclear exactly how the siting patterns will shake out long term. They’re popping up in different areas, and I don’t think everyone has it fully figured out yet.

I was the engineer of record on a data center in Central Florida that’s nearing completion, and the larger trend is real. Data centers bring significant demand for power and infrastructure, so they connect directly to the energy resilience conversation and to long-term planning for utilities.

Beyond energy, what other factors will influence Orlando’s competitiveness in the next few years?

Orlando has become a more diversified economy, and that helps its competitiveness. Tourism is still a major driver, and institutions like Disney and Universal continue to shape development and infrastructure needs. The region also benefits from higher education, including UCF, and that matters for talent and for long-term innovation.

But growth also creates pressure in relation to the workforce. Finding top talent in engineering is a challenge everywhere, and it becomes more competitive as regions grow. Orlando’s ability to keep strengthening its talent pipeline will influence how quickly and effectively projects can be delivered.

Permitting and entitlement complexity can slow timelines. How is LJA navigating those challenges?

Permitting, entitlements, and rezoning can always be a challenge, especially as markets get more active and agencies are balancing demand. One of the most effective things you can do is hire experienced people who understand the process and have strong relationships, because that helps projects move more predictably.

We’re also investing in efficiency. Our clients expect speed and responsiveness, coupled with the high quality we’ve always provided and that expectation keeps rising. To keep pace, you have to stay up-to-date on technology, software, and processes that reduce friction and improve turnaround.

We’re fortunate to have internal support teams that help enable that. We have a corporate services business solutions group that supports production operations, and that’s important for keeping teams focused on delivery while still modernizing tools and workflows.

What investments are you making in AI, both in software and in preparing your teams to use it effectively?

We have an AI committee that’s studying the space and trying to spearhead initiatives. We’re also integrating AI in practical ways across the business where it improves quality and efficiency.

Some of our core platforms already include AI integration, like accounting software and client resource management. We’re also using AI to support permitting and code compliance work. Those are real applications that can help teams move faster while maintaining standards.

The committee’s role is also to think about what’s next and where AI can add value without introducing risk. In technical fields, the goal is to use the tool responsibly and make sure it supports better outcomes.

How do you balance the excitement around AI with the need for accuracy in engineering work?

AI is absolutely powerful, but it still depends on what you feed it. If you put bad data in, you’re going to get unreliable or bad data out, so you have to teach it, provide good information, and make sure it’s being guided by people who understand the context.

We’ve always said the same thing about engineering models. The model is only as good as the assumptions and the data. AI is another tool, and it needs that same discipline, especially when you’re dealing with compliance, safety, and long-term infrastructure decisions.

Looking ahead two to three years, how do you expect demand for infrastructure services in Orlando to evolve, and what will be your priorities?

Transportation, power, and energy should remain strong. Data centers are another area that’s growing, and the infrastructure demands around them will continue to expand, particularly on the power side.

Residential can move in cycles, but Central Florida continues to grow, and that growth creates ongoing demand for community development and for the connectivity between housing, employment centers, and city cores.

A big differentiator will be municipal foresight. Builders may want to develop in certain areas, but if water and sewer infrastructure isn’t in place, development is constrained. Cities and municipalities that plan ahead and invest early in core utilities can shape growth more effectively and unlock better long-term outcomes.

For us, priorities are continuing to grow the right service lines, investing in efficiency, and staying aligned with what clients and communities need as Orlando’s development continues to accelerate.

Want more? Read the Invest: Greater Orlando report.