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In an effort to improve the efficiency of internal combustion engines, much focus has been put into variable valve actuation technologies in recent years. Electromagnetic solenoid valves can provide the cycle-by-cycle flexible valve timing needed for throttleless engine control or high efficiency combustion modes such as Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition. One challenge with electromagnetic solenoid intake and exhaust valves is the robust control of the motion to achieve smooth landing under a variety of operating conditions. Promising algorithms have been demonstrated under test-bench conditions, but no work to date has demonstrated a robust electromagnetic valve-train on a functional engine that also satisfies soft landing and transition timing criteria. In this work, two previously developed valve motion controllers are experimentally tested on a single cylinder test engine.