Appointed Academician Geometer in 1688, Pierre Varignon carried out until 1722 duties as laid down in the regulations of 1699. We cover Varignon's academic activities during this period, particularly in the context of the scientific policies defined by Pontchartrain and later by the Regent Philippe d'Orléans. Alongside papers he published in Histoire et Mémoires, he was involved in assessing the work of other members of the Académie, both in commissions and as a member of the institution's 'Comité de librairie'. He was also active in evaluating machines and findings proposed by ‘savants étrangers', those from outside the Académie. As a ‘pensionnaire’, he took on several ‘élèves’ under his mentoring. In addition, in 1711 and 1719, he held the position of annual 'directeur', responsible for monitoring the agenda of the sessions. We compare Varignon's activities with those of two other major figures from this period, La Hire and Homberg.