Corporate Experience
Corporate Experience
A dedicated view of Robert Fithen’s private-sector and applied-industry work: aircraft CFD validation, manufacturing software, engineering certification testing, finite element software commercialization, orthotics design support, and the current finance-business role at 5thN Financial.
Earlier industry work that shaped the current finance direction
The resume history shows a long pattern of applied computation outside the classroom. Before the current emphasis on finance research and 5thN Financial, that pattern included defense/aerospace modeling, manufacturing software, engineering certification testing, and commercial finite element software development.
5thN Financial, LLC
2017-Present
CEO, Portfolio Manager, and Owner. The finance-business role extends the computational career into portfolio methodology, machine-learning-informed allocation, robust implementation, client portfolio monitoring, and compliance-aware advisory operations.
5thN / StressComp Inc.
2005-2009
Software Engineer and Owner. Developed a 3-D structural finite element software package used inside DesignCAD, with geometry generation, C++ finite element analysis, visualization workflow, and TetGen-based unstructured grids.
General Dynamics / Lockheed
1986-1989
Worked in the Computational Fluid Dynamics Group validating CFD codes against experimental results for Advanced Tactical Fighter work, including 3-D forebody-inlet solutions, inlet/engine-face analysis, vertical stabilizer drag, and canopy-forebody pressure predictions.
AT&T Consumer Products
1984-1986
Authored an in-house software package to plan more than 80 punch-press operations used in the construction of AT&T pay phones.
Dunham Manufacturing
1983
Planned and performed Association of American Railroads certification work for semi-trailers used in intermodal transport, including multi-cycle, creep, and drop testing.
Jaeco Orthopedics collaboration
Arkansas Tech period
Applied engineering design support to upper-extremity orthotics, showing the recurring connection between computational/engineering methods and practical product problems.
What these roles have in common
Validated computation CFD models compared against experiments and used to inform aircraft design questions.
Software as leverage Manufacturing, CAD, finite element, and portfolio methods translated into working software.
Engineering accountability Certification testing, design validation, and compliance-aware operations appear across the career.
Finance as continuation 5thN Financial extends the same quantitative discipline into portfolio construction and research.
Previous corporate and applied-industry experience
From engineering companies to 5thN Financial
The corporate experience is more than a list of past employers. It helps explain the present research shift: the current work in Portfolio Computational Methods, Expanded Portfolio Theory, and HiFuPi backtesting builds on decades of practical computational modeling where the result had to be implemented, checked, and used in real systems.
Earlier corporate work
Aircraft design simulations, manufacturing process software, finite element products, and certification testing required reproducibility, validation, and practical constraints.
Current finance work
Portfolio research at 5thN Financial uses the same mindset: formal models, repeatable backtests, implementation discipline, and documented decision rules.