[3][4] In 1996, Pate started his career by writing and directing the thriller film called The Grave with his brother Josh.
[13][14] As his filmography was already fleshing out, he took on several directing jobs on television series like Battlestar Galactica (2005),[15][16] Bionic Woman (2007),[17] Friday Night Lights (2007-2010),[18] Chuck (2008),[19] The Philanthropist (2009),[20] Caprica (2010),[21][22][23] Undercovers (2010),[24] The Event (2010-2011),[25] and Prime Suspect (2011).
[34][35] Pate is the co-creator and executive producer of Outer Banks for Netflix, a teen drama that premiered on April 15, 2020.
[36] Pate currently lives with his wife, Jennifer,[37] and two young adult children, Lilah and Cooper,[38] in Wilmington, North Carolina.
[36] His daughter, Lilah, has made several cameos on Outer Banks and several other Netflix and Amazon Prime Video series; such as The Summer I Turned Pretty.