Build the things you joined the industry to build.
Most engineers leave the industry having shipped one airframe. We are hiring the people who would like that number to be six. The work is hard, the room is one person today, the offer is signed by the founder.
The four reasons to take the second seat.
We do not run a benefits arms race. We do not have a foosball table. We will not match the cash of a fintech in London. The reasons to take the second seat at Varn — and the reasons we are committing to keep them true at ten and at a hundred — are these.
- 01You ship hardware that flies.
Not slides, not roadmaps, not deck decks. The metal you helped cut leaves the building, runs a sortie, and comes back covered in salt.
- 02You sit next to the founder. Literally.
Varn is one building and one person today. Until the roster grows, the founder is the floor. There is no middle layer translating you to the room where the calls get made. There will not be one at ten people either.
- 03Allied procurement is waiting.
Fourteen nations of allied procurement watching this company. The clock is on the calendar, not on the runway. The work matters in days, not quarters.
- 04You will recognise your code on the airframe.
Software engineers walk the line. Machinists read firmware. The artificial wall between hardware and software does not exist here, and we will not let it appear.
One person, one Tuesday, no theatre.
One day of the founder, redacted to a Tuesday. This is the room the second hire walks into. When the team grows, the shape grows with it — and this page updates.
- 06:4201 / 06First coffee. The inbox is the team for now.
Replies to candidates who wrote overnight, a note to a Danish supplier, a redraft of one paragraph on this site. Done before the city is awake.
- 09:0002 / 06On the bench.
Fusion 360, calipers, and a 3D-printed iteration of a sub-assembly. The shop floor is small enough that the bench is six metres from the desk.
- 11:3003 / 06Supplier call · Jutland machinist.
Tolerances, finish, lead time, price on a first run of twenty parts. The conversation is in Danish. The order goes in by email an hour later.
- 14:0004 / 06Candidate, in person.
A senior engineer is over from Stockholm for the day. We sit with a notebook and a pot of coffee for three hours. The interview is the conversation.
- 17:0005 / 06Writing.
An essay for the newsroom, a reply to a journalist, or the next iteration of a hiring page. Most days, all three.
- 22:0006 / 06Code.
Firmware, simulator, or research notes. Most nights end here. Tomorrow the order from Jutland is already shipping.
Three seats. One taken.
The founder, and two seats we are publishing before they are filled. The next two engineers will appear here when they sign. We do not invent a roster to make this page look fuller.
- P-00on rosterAxel HenriksenFounder · Chief Executive
I am the team for now. I am hiring the next person who will sit next to me and read the same code. If that is you, the bench is here and the airframe is on it.
Founded 2026.05Aerospace research · autonomy - P-01seat openSeat openSenior Engineer · Air Systems
The offer letter is drafted. The signature is the founder's. The only blank is the name.
Take this seatOpen · week-one startApply via /open-roles · /contact - P-02seat openSeat openSenior Engineer · Heimdall
Software, hardware, or both. The seat is for whoever is willing to own the whole stack alongside the founder.
Take this seatOpen · week-one startApply via /open-roles · /contact
How we run the hire.
Six rules we will not negotiate on. They are unusual on purpose. The reason they hold is that we have written down what they are protecting.
- Rule01The interview is the work.
We pay you for a real day on a real problem. You leave knowing what the room feels like at 14:30 — today that is the founder, tomorrow it is the founder and you. We leave knowing if the offer goes out.
- Rule02Every offer is signed by the founder.
Not the recruiter, not the head of people, not the chair. The letter has one name on the bottom. It will say what the bar to good looks like in week one.
- Rule03We do not run a recruiter pipeline.
There are no contingency agencies on this account. Engineers and operators read the inbox. They will continue to.
- Rule04Hardware is not someone else's problem.
Software engineers walk the line. Operators read the firmware. There is no team here that does not own the airframe.
- Rule05You watch what you build, fly.
First sortie of the system you helped ship, you are at the range. This is not a perk. It is how we close the loop on engineering judgement.
- Rule06Hybrid is the floor.
We do not hire fully remote. We do not run satellite offices. The room is in Copenhagen and the seats are in the room.
Where you go from here.
Three honest paths into Varn. Pick the one that is yours and walk through it. We will be on the other side.
- 01 · Experienced/open-rolesIf your seat is on the page.
Thirty open positions across Air Systems, Sea Systems, Heimdall, Manufacturing, Range & Test, and Functions. Reference the code. The hiring lead will read it the same day.
See the index - 02 · Early career/early-careersIf you are at the start.
Five programmes for graduates, interns, apprentices, conscripts, and PhDs. The first cohort starts September 2026. None of them are shadowing exercises.
See the programmes - 03 · Off the page/contactIf the seat is not listed.
Write a note. Tell us what you would build at Varn that we have not asked for yet. We have not hired anyone yet — we expect most of the next ten to come in by letter, not by CV.
Write to the founder
We have not hired anyone yet. Tell us what you would build if no one was looking. Tell us why you would be the one to do it. The founder reads every letter the same day. If the seat is real, we will create it.