Meet the Instructors

Pat McKillen

Senior IT Consultant

With over 30 years of experience, Pat bridges the gap between a computer science degree and Wall Street readiness, preparing graduates to excel as software engineers in financial institutions.

Background: Financial services & technology · Based in Belfast, Northern Ireland

Financial Services Insurance Data & Analytics Cloud & DevOps Agile / ITSM
pat mckillen instructor headshot

About Pat

Pat brings three decades of hands-on experience in capital markets and financial technology to the classroom. Starting in the financial services industry in 1999, Pat has worked across the full stack of front-office engineering – from algorithmic trading systems and quantitative development to market risk management and data science.

Since 2005, Pat has been dedicated to graduate training, and as a full-time instructor since 2014, has built a reputation for preparing the next generation of software engineers to thrive in large corporate financial institutions. 

Pat’s gift is demystifying Wall Street for engineers and turning abstract financial concepts and enterprise software challenges into tangible, career-launching knowledge. His teaching style is relentlessly practical and grounded in real-world expertise: a market shock, an earnings surprise, or a Fed decision becomes a teaching moment to illustrate technical and financial concepts in real time.

Every lesson is peppered with examples from real financial engineering challenges Pat has solved in production environments. As a result, Pat bridges the gap between code and practical application, ensuring learners can apply programming languages like C++ and Python to their daily work in the financial services industry.

He particularly enjoys instructing teams that are willing to engage deeply with complex systems and aren’t afraid to ask hard questions, as well as practical-minded computer science graduates who are hungry to understand the financial domain they’re entering.

When not teaching or building systems, Pat pursues a disciplined approach to competitive chess, performs classical guitar, and is a keen wildlife photographer. These pursuits share the same DNA as Pat’s teaching philosophy: pattern recognition, precision, patience, and the discipline required to master complexity—whether that’s a symphony, a chess endgame, or capturing that perfect moment in nature. 

Industry Experience

May 2022 – Present

Senior Technical Consultant

Neueda

Financial Services

Sep 2014 – May 2022

Freelance IT Consultant & Trainer

IT

Jan 2012 – Sep 2014

Software Engineering Manager

New York Stock Exchange

Finance

Sep 2005 – Dec 2011

Senior Vice President – Equity Technologies

Citi

Finance

June 2001 – Sep 2005

IT Consultant

Vision

IT

Jun 1999 – Jun 2001

Quantitative Engineer

Data Analytics Research Technology (DART)

Technology

Aug 1997 – Jun 1999

Senior Software Engineer

Liberty Information Technology

Technology

Jun 1993 – Jun 1997

Retail Technology Analyst

ohn Henderson Ltd.

Retail

Jan 1992 – Jun 1993

Computer Programmer

Belfast City Council

Local Government

Certifications & credentials

BSc Computer Science

Queens University Belfast

By the numbers

35

Years experience

60,000+

Delegates trained

4+

Regulated sectors

Courses delivered

  • Global Graduate programmes
  • Python – Data Science, Machine Learning, Programming
  • C++
  • Java

Connect with Pat


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