He is a three-time Nordic medalist (gold in 2022, silver in 2016, bronze in 2014) and a eight-time Finnish national champion (2013, 2015–2018, 2022-2023).

[3][4] In the summer of 2022, responding to an appeal from the Ukrainian Figure Skating Federation, Virtanen and his wife decided to help Ukrainian figure skater, Kyrylo Marsak, who was no longer able to train in Kyiv due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

He reached the final segment and finished twentieth overall at the 2005 Junior Worlds in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.

[10] Prior to the 2010–11 figure skating season, Virtanen left his longtime coach, Liivo Rennik, to begin training under Stefan Zins in Tampere.

Selected to compete at the 2013 European Championships, Virtanen placed twenty-sixth in the short program, failing to advance to the free skate segment of the competition.

[10] In late February, Virtanen made the podium at the Nordic Championships for the first time, taking the bronze medal.

He would then finish fifteenth at the 2016 Bavarian Open before closing the season by winning silver at the 2016 Nordic Championships and bronze at the 2016 Cup of Tyrol.

[10] Prior to the season, Virtanen made a coaching change, going from Karel Fajfr to Jean-François Ballester and Marie Therese Kreiselmeyer.

[17] Shortly afterward, Virtanen won the silver medal at the 2019 Finnish Championships behind Roman Galay.

[18] Virtanen began the season by finishing seventeenth at the 2019 CS Finlandia Trophy before placing fourth at the 2019 Golden Bear of Zagreb.

He then finished the season by placing tenth at the 2020 Bavarian Open and fourteenth at the 2020 International Challenge Cup.

[10] Selected to compete at the 2021 World Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, Virtanen finished in thirty-first place.

[19][20] As a result, Virtanen was selected as the host nation's men's singles representative at the 2022 Grand Prix of Espoo.

[21] However the partnership would come to an end in September 2023 due to Alteryd's difficulties with adapting to the new training environment in Finland.

[4] Virtanen began competing in early November at the 2023 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge, where he placed eighth.

[10][4] He subsequently competed at the 2023 CS Warsaw Cup and the 2023 Tallinn Trophy, finishing tenth and fourth, respectively.

He would then subsequently finish tenth at the 2024 Bavarian Open and won the bronze medal at the 2024 Tallink Hotels Cup.

[10] Due to Suntsev failing to obtain the minimum technical scores to compete at the 2024 World Championships in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Virtanen was sent to the event.

"[23] Virtanen started the season by competing at the 2024 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge and the 2024 Volvo Open Cup, where he finished tenth and ninth, respectively.

Selected to compete at the Finnish Grand Prix event, the 2024 Finlandia Trophy, Virtanen came in eleventh place.

[10] Following an eleventh-place finish at the 2024 CS Warsaw Cup, Virtanen went on to win his eighth national title at the 2025 Finnish Championships.