Engineer – Control & Automation Design – Data Centre

Position

The Engineer – Control & Automation Design – Data Centre is a full-time role based in Singapore or Indonesia (Batam).

The role reports to the Senior Manager – Data Centre.

Overview

The Engineer – Control & Automation Design is responsible for the design, technical governance and engineering support of control, automation and monitoring systems across the company’s data centre portfolio. The role supports the full asset lifecycle – from concept design and construction through commissioning, operations, upgrades and capacity expansion – to ensure facilities achieve the highest standards of availability, reliability, resilience, scalability, sustainability and operational efficiency.

Working closely with internal design, construction, operations, commissioning and IT teams, the Engineer – Control & Automation Design will develop and review integrated automation and control solutions that support mission-critical environments while ensuring compliance with company design standards, cybersecurity requirements and industry best practices.

Key responsibilities

Design & Engineering

• Develop, review and approve control and automation system designs for new data centre developments and major facility expansions.
• Prepare and review control philosophies, sequence of operations, functional design specifications, points schedules, network architecture drawings and engineering documentation.
• Design and optimise mission-critical control and monitoring systems, including:
  • Building Management Systems (BMS).
  • Electrical Power Monitoring Systems (EPMS).
  • Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems.
  • Data Centre Infrastructure Management (DCIM) integration.
  • PLC- and DDC-based automation systems.
  • HVAC and mechanical plant controls.
  • Chiller plant optimisation and plant sequencing.
  • Generator, UPS and critical power system monitoring.
  • Environmental monitoring systems.
  • Leak detection systems.
  • Fuel system monitoring and controls.
  • Fire alarm, smoke control and life safety system interfaces.
  • Industrial communication networks and field devices.
• Develop control narratives, cause-and-effect matrices, alarm management strategies and system operating sequences.
• Design resilient control network architectures, including redundant servers, controllers, communication networks and field bus systems.
• Specify instrumentation, sensors, actuators, controllers, gateways and communication interfaces.
• Develop standardised control system architectures, software standards, graphics standards and engineering specifications across the data centre portfolio.
• Evaluate emerging automation technologies, digital twins, predictive analytics, AI-enabled optimisation, edge control solutions and advanced monitoring platforms.

Design Review & Technical Governance

• Review consultant and contractor control system designs to ensure compliance with company standards, project requirements and applicable industry codes.
• Participate in design reviews, constructability reviews, value engineering and technical risk assessments.
• Ensure automation systems support operational resilience, maintainability, energy efficiency, cybersecurity and future scalability.
• Review control philosophies, network architectures, software design, graphics development and sequence of operations.
• Manage technical deviations, software revisions and engineering change requests.
• Promote standardisation of automation platforms, communication protocols and engineering practices across the data centre portfolio.

Project Delivery

• Support project teams throughout design, procurement, construction, commissioning and handover.
• Review technical submissions, vendor proposals, software documentation, control panel designs and equipment selections.
• Coordinate automation interfaces between mechanical, electrical, fire protection, security and IT systems.
• Participate in Factory Acceptance Tests (FAT), Site Acceptance Tests (SAT), Integrated Systems Testing (IST), software validation and commissioning activities.
• Support functional performance testing and integrated system demonstrations.
• Resolve complex control and automation engineering issues during project execution.

Operations & Asset Lifecycle Support

• Provide engineering support for operational data centres.
• Evaluate automation system performance and recommend improvements to reliability, operational efficiency and energy optimisation.
• Support root cause analysis (RCA) of control system failures, automation faults and communication issues, and develop corrective actions.
• Plan automation upgrades, software migrations, controller replacements and system expansions while maintaining operational continuity.
• Support lifecycle management of BMS, EPMS, SCADA, PLC and DCIM platforms.
• Collaborate with operations teams to optimise alarm management, trending, reporting and preventive maintenance strategies.
• Support software version control, backup strategies, disaster recovery planning and cybersecurity patch management.

Sustainability & Innovation

• Support initiatives to improve Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE), energy efficiency and overall facility sustainability through advanced automation strategies.
• Develop optimisation algorithms for HVAC systems, cooling plant performance and energy management.
• Evaluate emerging technologies including AI-assisted controls, predictive maintenance, machine learning analytics, digital twins and advanced fault detection.
• Promote standardisation, automation, digitalisation and continuous improvement across the control and automation engineering function.

Qualifications & experience

• Bachelor’s Degree in Control Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering, Automation Engineering or equivalent.
• Minimum 5 years of relevant experience in the design of industrial control and automation systems for mission-critical facilities, with significant exposure to hyperscale or enterprise data centres.
• Experience working for a data centre owner/operator, engineering consultancy, system integrator or EPC contractor delivering large-scale mission-critical projects.
• Experience in the following areas would be an advantage:
  • Building Management Systems (BMS).
  • Electrical Power Monitoring Systems (EPMS).
  • SCADA systems.
  • Data Centre Infrastructure Management (DCIM).
  • Industrial networking and cybersecurity.
  • AI/HPC data centre automation.
  • Digital twin implementation and advanced analytics.
• Professional Engineer (PE), Chartered Engineer (CEng) or equivalent professional registration is preferred.

Key competencies

• Strong knowledge of mission-critical control and automation systems for data centres.
• Experience designing Building Management Systems (BMS), Electrical Power Monitoring Systems (EPMS), SCADA and integrated automation platforms.
• Knowledge of PLC, DDC and industrial automation architectures.
• Understanding of HVAC control strategies, critical cooling systems and mechanical plant automation.
• Experience with industrial communication protocols including BACnet, Modbus, OPC UA, SNMP, MQTT, DNP3 and IEC 61850.
• Understanding of resilient automation architectures, redundant controllers, fault-tolerant communication networks and high-availability system design.
• Familiarity with Data Centre Infrastructure Management (DCIM) platforms and integration with BMS, EPMS and operational technologies.
• Understanding of cybersecurity principles for Operational Technology (OT), including IEC 62443, network segmentation, access control and secure remote connectivity.
• Experience reviewing control philosophies, sequence of operations, cause-and-effect matrices and integrated systems testing documentation.
• Knowledge of commissioning methodologies, software validation, Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT), Site Acceptance Testing (SAT) and Integrated Systems Testing (IST) for mission-critical facilities.
• Familiarity with industrial networking, Ethernet infrastructure, fibre optic communications and time synchronisation systems.
• Proficiency in AutoCAD, Revit MEP, Navisworks and BIM coordination.
• Understanding of energy management strategies, advanced analytics, predictive maintenance, digital twins and AI-enabled building optimisation is desirable.