Black & White Engineering, a global engineering design consultancy specialising in mission-critical buildings and infrastructure, has opened an office in Melbourne as part of its expansion across Asia-Pacific, alongside further growth in Malaysia and Singapore.
The Melbourne office establishes the company’s first permanent presence in Australia and will support delivery across the local market and wider region. The expansion reflects increasing demand for data centre infrastructure across APAC, where capacity requirements, project timelines and technical complexity continue to increase.
Black & White Engineering expects its APAC headcount to grow by 165% between 2025 and 2026, with a projected increase of around 316% by 2029 as delivery capability scales across the region.
As part of this growth, Chief Operating Officer Stephen Tode has relocated from Dubai to Singapore, marking the first time the company’s C-suite leadership has been permanently based in the APAC region. Alongside his Group responsibilities, he is also overseeing operations across APAC, including Singapore, as Area Director, strengthening leadership as the business continues to expand across the region.
Stephen Tode, Chief Operating Officer at Black & White Engineering, said: “I’m pleased to be based in Singapore again at a point where the business is expanding across APAC. The region continues to see strong demand, and the focus is on supporting that growth while providing the right environment for our teams and maintaining consistent delivery for clients as we scale.”
The Melbourne office will initially support a core engineering team, alongside design management and project functions, with capacity to expand as project demand develops. Recruitment is ongoing as the business builds out its local capability.
The Australian expansion sits within a wider programme of regional growth. In Malaysia, the business has established a presence in Johor Bahru to support live data centre projects and is continuing to develop a front-end engineering team in Kuala Lumpur, alongside ongoing growth in Singapore.
Clive Smith, Head of Design Management at Black & White Engineering APAC, said: “We have opened in Melbourne to support growing demand across the APAC data centre market and to establish a presence in a location where there is a clear need for additional delivery capability.
“Establishing a presence in-country is central to how we are building the business across APAC. It allows us to support clients earlier in the project lifecycle and scale delivery capability in line with project requirements.”
Across APAC, Black & White Engineering is increasing its involvement at earlier project stages, including site due diligence and feasibility, covering areas such as power availability, connectivity and planning considerations.
The expansion is supported by the recent appointment of Kevin Miller as Regional Data Centre Director, APAC, strengthening leadership across the region.
Kevin Miller, Regional Data Centre Director, APAC at Black & White Engineering, said: “Black & White’s focus on mission critical design, combined with its international footprint, creates a strong platform to support clients across APAC.
“My background spans electrical engineering, IT security and data centre design, and the focus is on helping clients respond to increasing scale and complexity, including the impact of AI on infrastructure.
“APAC remains one of the most active data centre markets globally, with strong demand for delivery capability that can keep pace with that growth.”
