Ten years of the coolest dev conference in Grenoble 🏂

Authors: Nicolas Terreyre, Sylvain Dedieu, Arnaud Becquet, Nicolas Drufin, Nicolas Beaudouin, and Léo Gatellier

For the fourth consecutive year, Criteo was proud to partner with the Snowcamp conference in Grenoble. Furthermore, we had the privilege of hosting the “Snowcamp Tremplin” at our Grenoble office last November, where six speakers were coached and competed for a coveted spot on the main stage.

During the main event, the Criteo presence was impossible to miss. With a prime location right at the entrance, our vibrant booth and 25 Criteos wearing company swag welcomed the 650 attendees.

We engaged in countless rich discussions regarding our R&D organisation, our unique “self-managed team” culture, and technical challenges. It was a pleasure to connect with such a diverse group of people during the breaks. We met engineers discovering Criteo for the first time (learning about our 20-year history, Nasdaq listing, and status as a French unicorn), locals who were surprised to learn about our R&D hub in Grenoble, and even former candidates who we encouraged to apply again (Yes, Criteo is hiring!).

M.A.R.I. — testing people’s algorithmic logic with fun

To attract visitors to our booth, we offered two Raspberry Pi prizes, one per day. Rather than relying on a standard Criteo brand quiz or a simple random draw, we wanted to create something far more engaging and memorable.

Thanks to the great idea suggested by the team, we came up with an interactive game: M.A.R.I. on Mars. Attendees were challenged to find the correct sequence of moves to guide the M.A.R.I. robot from point A to point B on a Mars-inspired map. The objective was to complete stage 4 on Thursday and stage 5 on Friday within a limited time.

Participants who successfully completed the challenge earned a chance to be entered into a random draw to win a Raspberry Pi, with the winners announced at our booth at 5:30 PM each day.

We might use the game again at future venues, so look for our booth and test yourself 🤝

Share, Learn & Grow

This year, we had the privilege of sharing two different talks with the Snowcamp community. Arnaud Becquet, a speaker in both, shared his thoughts on the event 👇

“Snowcamp was an incredible experience. The atmosphere was incredibly friendly, and everyone was open to talking and sharing. I felt a strong sense of belonging within the Mountain’s big tech family. ⛰

Being a speaker is no easy feat. It requires thorough preparation, repeated rehearsals, and even more preparation. Creating a flawless presentation with no blind spots is already a significant challenge, and presenting two talks is an even greater endeavor. Despite the high stress levels, I was proud to have been selected and committed to giving the best possible presentation to the attendees.

The talk titled “Microservices, macro galère? Repenser vos tests pour survivre”, with Benjamin, was a resounding success. He possesses extensive experience and exudes a contagious energy. We meticulously crafted an immersive narrative to convey our message effectively, capitalizing on the opportunity to present as two speakers. While we didn’t achieve the level of theatricality of Molière, we will strive for improvement in future presentations. This session was both enjoyable and educational, drawing inspiration from the real-life challenges we overcame at Criteo. The room was packed with engaged attendees, and the feedback we received was overwhelmingly positive. You can access the presentation here.

My solo talk, titled “Concourse CI chez Criteo: l’art du sur-mesure à l’échelle”, presented a slightly more challenging preparation and delivery process. Despite conducting a dry-run during our internal Criteo Tech Summit, I underestimated certain aspects, particularly the extract work required to provide context for external attendees. Nevertheless, I received highly constructive feedback from the audience, which motivates me to refine and present the talk at another conference. 🚀

Overall, this experience was incredibly valuable as it allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and share our work with tech enthusiasts. 🧑‍💻”

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Now we will share the personal experience from three Criteos: Nicolas Drufin, Nicolas Beaudouin, and Léo Gatellier.

General Overview

This year’s Snowcamp was another very positive experience, a really well‑organized edition despite the venue change, with a great atmosphere throughout. The event made it easy to meet people, chat about tech, and enjoy informal moments between sessions. With 25 Criteos attending, there was a strong presence on site, giving us plenty of opportunities to connect with former colleagues, future Criteos (hopefully), and speakers who were all very accessible. Communication with participants felt smooth and effective.

Regarding the agenda, AI‑related topics were especially prominent this year. Overall, the talks were engaging and diverse, covering topics such as development, security, and more. Logistically, everything ran well: the venue worked nicely, the organization was solid, and the food was nice. And of course, Snowcamp remains the only conference where you can spend a day in the mountains skiing or snowshoeing with the staff and some of the speakers, which adds a unique touch to the whole experience.

The talks we enjoyed the most

Microservices, macro galère? Repenser vos tests pour survivre

(Benjamin Baumann & Arnaud Becquet — Criteo)

This talk stood out for many of us, not just because it was presented by Criteos, but because it delivered insights directly applicable to our day‑to‑day work. For newcomers especially, it offered a clear window into how testing is approached at Criteo, with concrete patterns and a refreshing message: don’t overtest. The speakers balanced high‑level perspective with practical examples, using accessible analogies and real‑world feedback to make the session both authentic and engaging. It encouraged us to step back, question our testing habits, and focus on what truly brings value in a microservices environment. The structure was solid, the delivery dynamic, and even sprinkled with fun moments.

Les gardiens du Prompt: menaces GenAI et recettes de sécurité pour une production zen

(Philippe Laumay & Loïc Gudet — Moody’s Analytics)

This was a very fluid and enjoyable session that blended technical explanations with live demonstrations of a chatbot, making the topic easy to follow. It offered a clear introduction to securing LLMs exposed on the internet, covering common vulnerabilities, types of attacks, and practical mitigation strategies such as guardrails and deterministic tools. As a follow‑up to Victor Landeau’s talk on testing LLMs in production, it broadened the perspective with a strong, concise overview of AI security in real‑world environments, without drowning the audience in unnecessary complexity.

Repoussez les limites du multi‑tenancy dans Kubernetes avec les runtimeclasses

(Rachid Zarouali — Sevensphere)

Although this session leaned more toward technical experimentation than a concrete production use case, it was still highly valuable. Rachid is excellent at breaking down complex Kubernetes concepts, and he walked us through multiple layers of isolation, from virtual clusters to running multiple container runtimes, and even VMs, within the same Kubernetes cluster. The clarity of the explanations made the deep‑dive approachable and engaging.

Pourquoi la Tech tient plus de la pop culture que de l’ingénierie ?

(Julien Topçu — Shodo)

This keynote explored the idea of tech as a form of pop culture, starting with what it means to belong to such a movement and then examining the biases and limitations that come with it. It challenged many widely accepted “truths”, pushing the audience to question long‑held assumptions. The talk was dynamic, well‑paced, and rich in references, quotes, and thoughtful research, making it both intellectually stimulating and memorable.

Apprendre et enseigner le dev à l’ère de l’IA

(Jonathan Gaffiot & Julien Lenormand — Kaizen Solutions)

Far from the usual polarized debates around AI, this talk encouraged a more nuanced reflection on how development is learned and taught today. The speakers highlighted timeless fundamentals: ownership, testing, and validation, emphasizing the importance of stepping back to focus on needs, architecture, and product mastery rather than getting lost in code‑level details. It was a grounded, thoughtful session that resonated with many.

🤖 Astro GitOps — Press ⓧ to start

(Kevin Davin — Gradle)

Set in a future where GitOps dominates Kubernetes deployments, this talk offered a sharp overview of what good and bad GitOps look like in practice. Drawing from real‑life (and sometimes painful) experiences, Kevin explained the pitfalls to avoid and the principles that make GitOps effective. The session encouraged reducing unnecessary tooling between the Git repository and production clusters, making it a practical and experience‑driven guide to doing GitOps right.

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Snowcamp, a must-attend conference for our team in Grenoble, continues to grow and improve each year. Whether as sponsors, speakers, or regular attendees, we thoroughly enjoyed the event. We extend our gratitude to the organizers for their exceptional work, to the speakers for their willingness to share their expertise with the community, and to everyone who visited our booth and engaged with our team. Looking forward to seeing you all next year!

If you want to be part of this big Criteo Crew at Snowcamp 2027 — Easy, we are hiring! 👇

Your next adventure awaits!

Explore new opportunities at Criteo. Browse our list of open jobs and see if you can find one matching your skillset…

careers.criteo.com

PS: Thanks, Bruno Lavit, for these amazing pictures!