He was capped by Ireland on their 2009 tour to North America when he lined out against Canada on 23 May 2009.
A former pupil of Wallace High School, Whitten was recruited to the Phoenix Ulster Rugby Academy in 2007, having already represented Ireland at U18 and U19 levels.
This culminated in a call-up to the Ireland squad for the summer tour of USA and Canada, where he won two senior caps.
It was announced on 8 March 2012 that Whitten would be joining English Premiership Rugby side Exeter Chiefs for the 2012-2013 season.
He started the final as Exeter Chiefs defeated Wasps to be crowned champions of the 2016-17 English Premiership.